


It's All In The Eyes

by k0dy



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Blood and Gore, Character Death, Eren's and Jean's beautiful friendship, Eventual Happy Ending, Experimentation, Explicit Language, Friendships In Fanfiction Are More Important Than Friendships IRL, Hange Zoë & Levi Are Best Friends, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, M/M, No Beta We Die Like A Lot Of People in AoT, Nonbinary Hange Zoë, Organised Attack Group, School Shootings, Slow Build, Terrorists, Torture, Violence, not graphic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-20
Updated: 2021-02-27
Packaged: 2021-03-12 03:33:44
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 5
Words: 39,130
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28628847
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/k0dy/pseuds/k0dy
Summary: The world was never a safe place, it will probably never be. But some people are willing to fight to make it better, to make it safe so the generations after them don't have to live in fear.Eren was born and lived in a world where he didn't have to worry about his safety because he was never exposed to any danger. But sooner or later everyone's luck has to run out.He led a peaceful life. He didn't have to worry about his grades, family or friends. Mikasa was always by his side, as well as Armin and Jean, who Eren grew to call his best friends and would protect with everything he had.It all was perfect. Perfect things can’t exist though.It changed with the shooting taking place at Trost High. People who didn’t deserve death died. People who didn’t deserve scars were scarred. Eren was ready to throw away everything to get his old life back. For better or worse, he wasn’t the only one willing to make such a sacrifice.Will he be ready? Will it have been worth it?
Relationships: Levi & Eren Yeager, Levi/Eren Yeager
Comments: 5
Kudos: 25





	1. Kirstein Means Trouble In French

Of course, everything was shitty when it came to school. It has always been that way, well, maybe not to everyone and not all the time. But Eren would bet his ass that everyone once in their life has said: "I fucking hate school". And who were other people to blame them, the school was hard enough without the shit life could give them. 

"I fucking hate school."

There it was. It was not an exclamation, not a cry you wanted everyone to hear, it was not something you shouted for the universe to hear, yet it knew. Not because it is all-knowing, no one was, but this one thing was something everyone had in the back of their mind. One thought that lingered even if you were someone with straight A's, a bunch of amazing people around you and a collected life, it was still something that stayed buried under other thoughts. Because it was something that everyone reflected on.   
It was a soft murmur, one would even say it was spoken only confidentially to a person you trusted and could be vulnerable with. Maybe it was true, maybe it was a lie or maybe it was Maybelline, Eren couldn't be a judge of that. There was a difference though, whether you said it with the corners of your lips tugging upwards or you said it on the verge of crying. Surprisingly enough it could mean the same thing, no matter how you reacted to the words thought or spoken out loud. Surprisingly enough when you said it with a smile on your face, it was okay. Surprisingly enough, the smile sitting on your face didn't quite reach your eyes sometimes. And surprisingly enough, most people didn't see the difference between these two. 

Only people that have mustered a smile like that knew. They knew that the smile that didn't quite reach your eyes wasn't genuine. They knew and they sometimes would put a hand on your shoulder to let you know, an action that spoke, an action that shouted: "I know how you feel," it shouted: "I understand you." And yet it only spoke to you, because the people around you had no idea, they weren't the ones to blame. A simple action like that reassured, it let you think that you were not alone in this, and you had never been because everyone felt down sometimes. 

A scowl and a playful eye roll were all he received from someone he grew to called his best friend. "Don't dramatise, Eren, this is not the first time you're getting a detention," He looked back at him with a slight frown. Eren wasn't mad at him, of course, he was not. Maybe a little. 

He let out a quiet sigh. "I promised Mikasa to be home early," His best friend hummed and nodded seemingly deep in thought. Yet for those who knew Jean Kirstein longer than five minutes knew that he couldn't be deep in thought.

Comfortable silence grew around them. They were long past the chapter in their friendship where they felt uncomfortable while not talking to each other. Both of them would say now that they appreciated when they were quiet. He and Jean, both were rather loud people, he was blunt and spoke his mind with no filter, it was something Eren always appreciated in him. Even though many times it had sparked a conflict between them. People have told them that they were similar, they both were impulsive and stubborn, everyone seemed to think they hated each other's guts. He would lie if he had said it wasn't the truth at the beginning.

When they met, their first conversation was an argument, he didn't even remember what was it about, Eren doubted Jean remembered either. They were so close to throwing fists at each other and were at their throats. Things were said in the heat of the moment, some of them stuck, most of them didn't. Eren's sister, Mikasa, had to pull them apart; he still smiled at the memory. After the fight, they both were separated by the teacher in the canteen, the whole school got to look at them argue, whenever they fought it was a sight to be seen. After the fight he backed away with Mikasa, he let his head cool off, he didn't apologise to Jean, but neither did he. Everytime they just let their arguments stay in the past.

There were many, many follow-up arguments, some of them resulted in them actually fighting. Many of those arguments ended up in having to stay in detention with him. The teacher in the detention with them was usually the same one, he didn't pay them much attention unless they were fighting once again. He and Jean started talking and since no one was usually around to witness it, no one knew that they were friends. Although their opinions differed on nearly every subject it was not something Eren minded. It was refreshing even, to learn about someone else's perspective on life. Jean was the pessimist in their duo, he didn't like to expose himself to anything dangerous yet he always seemed ready to throw himself in the fire when the situation needed it. Eren respected him for that. Being brave is never an easy thing to do.   
Spending more and more with Jean helped him to get a good grasp on his character and a, surprisingly, stable moral compass. He was a good person and a smart guy, even though he had a bit of a temper.

"I can't believe I crushed on her," A chuckle escaped Jean's mouth while Eren's head snapped in his direction. "Mikasa, I mean," he knew that he was talking about her, it was so obvious at first- his crush -Jean couldn't be able to hide his feelings even if he tried. He was always so pissed that Mikasa stayed by Eren's side. Probably at first, he didn't even know that they were adopted siblings.

"Yeah, she paid you no attention, it was kind of sad actually," He let a snicker escape his mouth and it granted him a solid smack on the back of his head. "What was that for!" He pouted and started to massage the point Jean hit him at.

Jean's eyebrows furrowed but there was something playful behind his frown and seemingly angry expression. "You led me to the belief that you two were dating, how is that fair?" He let his backpack fall from one of his shoulders, hanging solely on one arm. That definitely wasn't good for his back. 

Eren groaned pathetically in response, in the corner of his eye he could see the smirk on Jean's face. "Do you know how many times I get that? It's disgusting to think about considering that we're family."

"Yeah, I still remember how surprised Conny and Sasha were," Eren rolled his eyes at his remark.

"These guys are impossible, it took them two years to realize she's my sister."

"They really are on the same wavelength, huh."

There was no denying that Sasha and Conny weren't the brightest people in the world, they knew that themselves. But they both made up for it with other things. Every person is different and it'd be a bore if everyone was Armin-level smart.  
Armin was Eren's childhood friend, he basically knew him his whole life. He was always intelligent, even when they still were kids it was something that was hard to miss. He was curious about everything that seemed new and he fed himself on that curiosity. Although the two of them, Jean and Armin, were polar opposites, somehow at the very core of their beings they were quite similar. Maybe that was why they both were his best friends. 

"Just like us horseface, am I right?" Eren snickered and to his surprise even Jean laughed, not missing giving him a sold nudge on the shoulder. 

"That's enough you two, sit on the opposite sides of the classroom and please," The teacher took in a deep breath "Please, don't cause any trouble, you'll be out of here before you notice."

It was rather funny to see how the teacher was pained to see them after school. He probably had better, and more important, things to do than look after two teenagers. Yet somehow it didn't faze Eren and he doubted that Jean cared. Knowing him the thought didn't even cross his mind. They both nodded and, as instructed, sat at the opposite sides of the classroom. It was the same class they were headed to ever so often, it had its own feeling of familiarity. The same bleakish-yellow colour on the walls, Eren had no doubts that when the school was built it was a nice, saturated yellow colour that reminded everyone of school, but after time it was just dim, like an egg-shell. The wooden floor had a very similar case to the colour on the walls, it used to be nice and new, but after time it got used up. The lighting, god, the lighting flickered, no one could possibly imagine how many times Eren had flipped his shit over lighting. The desks were dirty, with chewing gums stuck under them and the chairs squeaked as you made a move. The school probably should have updated their equipment a while ago. What caught Eren's attention was that they were not alone in the class. Both he and Jean got so used to sitting alone in the classroom that when someone else was with them, it was quite the event. Especially if it was someone they recognized.

And Eren had every idea who the guy sitting in the front desk was. His name was Reiner Braun, he was with him and Jean in class, and he was a walking legend between them and, their classmates. Eren sent a confused look to Jean, who was as surprised as he was. To put it shortly, Reiner was the one that always helped you when you were struggling, he was the big brother of the whole class, you were getting picked on? Well, when Reiner found out not only he got rid of the 'getting picked on' problem but he would also make sure the guy or gall never made a step towards you again. You were getting bad grades? Reiner was there to help you out, he offered to talk to the teachers in your name if you were too anxious to do so yourself. He took care of everyone and everyone had the utmost respect towards him. Eren realized that his mouth hanged slightly open upon seeing him, and he closed it instantly. 

"Reiner? How did you manage to get here?" It was Jean who spoke up, and in all the long, years Eren had known Jean, he had never heard his voice to be that gentle. 

He turned around and the first thing Eren could see was that he had a black eye. Reiner Braun had a black eye. He might have needed to repeat that a few more times because he did not think anyone could land a hit on this guy. If his mouth was open before Eren was pretty sure that he started to gape.

His chuckle was as low as Jean's pick-up lines. "I got in a fight and was sent here."

"So where's the other one?" There was always a second person, it took two people for that kind of dance.

"Principal's office, I was the first one to report, so I'm sure they'll join us soon enough."

Both he and Jean sent a simple nod as a response. Eren's first thought was that the other guy was under a doctor's supervision or in the ER, but he guessed that the principal's office was also fair. Their principal was a strict guy, He was pretty sure everyone was scared of him at least on some level, some might would shit themselves upon talking to him. He didn't define the law, he was the law. And while you were talking to him, you had a feeling as if you were on some sort of a court case. When you were not there to report your side of a conflict or fight, he was a pretty chill guy, or so Eren has heard. You knew your punishment was fair when you left Darius Zackly's office, that was all there was to it.

Reiner glanced between both him and Jean. "Did you two get in a fight again?"

"Yeah," They spoke at the same time, what was both creepy and amusing. And kinda cool.

Another low chuckle escaped his mouth, clearly, he was amused by their synchronization more than they were. And while they were busy glaring at each other he let out a deep breath.

"You know, the two of you might have been able to be friends if you gave each other a shot."

That was when it hit Eren. As much as he liked to wonder, that people laughed and rolled their eyes at him, and Jean, as they argued all the time, they had no idea they were friends. They believed that they hate each other. Something so obvious to both him and Jean was overlooked by others and if Reiner, who was the first to know everything going on in their class, had no clue, then everyone else surely didn't know either. Eren caught Jean's eyes and they spoke the same thing that his mind did. 

Reiner didn't seem to notice them as he continued. "You have a lot of differences, but are actually really similar, I think both of you fail to see it. If you could put your stubbornness and this imagined rivalry aside you'd see what I mean." 

Eren blinked a couple of times still in shock of what Reiner had said. He was right because how wouldn't he be. He looked at Jean from the corner of his eye and saw him sitting with his fist clenched and his eyes fixated right on it. He didn't want everyone to think that he'd be ready to slash his throat if someone asked. He was not the type to hurt his friends.

The blond chuckled. "I don't want to pick sides when you two actually hurt each other," That was enough for Eren.

"What?" 

"What makes you think I'd hurt him!" The chair scraped the floor as he stood up smashing his hands on the desk.

The teacher looked up from his paperwork and spared them a short glance, only making sure they stayed in our seats, which they kind of did. Reiner turned around completely, straddling the chair he sat on, his arms laying on the top of the seatback. Now he looked interested, maybe a little taken-a-back too. 

Jean snorted. "Here I am, thinking that Reiner Braun knew everything about his classmates," He looked up with a smirk on his face. "Either you're blind, or we have become extremely good at hiding stuff from others."

Eren's mind was still running from the words he heard from his friend. He had tried to calm down yet his words dripped of annoyance. "Horseface and I are actually good friends you know."

"There's no need to call names, idiot," Jean frowned, but there was no hostility behind it. Maybe that was the thing people overlooked, they were so used to them arguing that even when they were just bantering they pinpoint it to an argument. His words managed to calm Eren down a bit. 

Reiner opened his mouth, ready to say something but then there was the dreaded squeak of the door. The three of them turn to look at the person entering the classroom. Of course, it had to be Annie Leonhart, the fact that it had been Annie was probably the only factor as to why she didn't end up in the ER, both of them were really good at fighting for some reason. 

"You guys tried too hard to read into us," Eren muttered finally. Reiner's eyes stayed on him, his eyebrows bent, forming a light frown on his face. "We don't always agree, we're not the types to talk things peacefully out either, we get caught up in the moment, all of these things are true, yeah," He looked at Jean to see how his face had softened already. "But I'd never hurt him."

He didn't mean for the last part to be a whisper. It just came out that way. Reiner let out a deep breath before a smile appeared on his face. Annie didn't even bother to turn to them, she probably just listened as she always did. Eren didn't think that he would have to outwardly admit to being friends with Jean, he wanted to believe that one day they'd just come in with their arms draped on one another and people would spare them the weird glances. Only then he realized how surreal his wish was.

"I'd never thought I'd see the day. How did that happen?" Reiner gestured between them. 

Jean raised one finger and frowned. "We're not together you know, we're just friends." 

If they had to explain to everyone how they became friends, Eren was more than sure that Jean was going to emphasize on the fact that they were not dating. They tried to, but it was a horrendous mistake never to be repeated again and never to be spoken of. Yet Reiner's question was unarguably a good one, he realized as he thought about it, Eren had no idea how the two of them managed to become friends. 

"How did we become friends exactly?"

Jean opened his mouth only to close it after a moment. Eren prayed silently that he wouldn't not know. "I have no idea."

"Wasn't it the one time you got drunk and ranted to me about Marco in middle school?" His eyes widened and he choked on air.

"Dude, what the fu-" The teacher sent him a knowing glance. "Fudge."

Reiner shrugged only. "If you wish for your crush to be a secret you might have to start hiding it like you hid your friendship with Jeager." Eren could only nod. 

"You do wear your heart on your sleeve."

"That one time when we all went to the movies and we were forced to sit together?" Jean wondered out loud but Eren only shook his head, at that point they were already acquainted, they already started to become friends.

"Was it was the summer vacation after second grade in middle school?" Eren paused for a second, for one time thinking about what he'd say next. "When we were fifteen." Reiner knew it was something he didn't know about and Eren knew that Jean didn't want him to say anything out loud, it was something only a few people knew about, as far as he knew, Jean intended for it to stay that way. 

"You might be right," Eren wasn't sure whether he was allowed to mention the even out loud, but Jean didn't seem too bothered about it. He carefully avoided say what had happened, he just mentioned the time. 

"I helped Jean with something when no one else was around." Eren clarified for Reiner and he absentmindedly nodded, there wasn't much to think about with this. 

"Even Conny?" Eren raised his eyebrow at Reiner's statement. "Even Conny wasn't around?"

"It wasn't something I'd entrust Conny with."

Eren glanced at Jean with nothing particular in mind, his eyes didn't say anything either. It was merely a supportive glance, neither of them wanted to relive the summer after the second year of middle school. Though what Reiner had said got Eren to think if Jean had entrusted Conny, what he too thought would be a horrible idea, not because Conny was a bad friend, he could and was an amazing friend he and Jean just weren't working out, they clashed a lot more than Eren and him, after one of their arguments they stopped talking, they didn't drift apart on friendly terms. Conny tended to talk a lot, and he was a talkative drunk. He didn't blame Jean on not sharing it with him, even though Eren seemed, at that time, as not a reliable option either. It still got him thinking whether they'd become friends if that one night he wouldn't have called him. 

_*Jean Kirstein calling...*_

_*Jean Kirstein calling...*_

_It was after three am, it made Eren groan in frustration._

_"What is it?"_

_"Eren? Can I... Can I talk to you?"_

_It was something rare to hear Jean hesitate. It was also rare to see Jean miss out on his sleep on a school week. What was even rarer was to see Jean calling him in the middle of the night, or calling him in general._

_"What do you want?" Eren did want to add a small insult at the end of the question, but hearing as Jean's breathing quivered he decided to spare him that time. Who knew, it could be something important. Or it could be a stupid prank again._

_"Can we meet? I don't want to talk on the phone."_

_"Jean, what- it's- wha- It's three in the morning, why would we meet up now?"_

_Why would they meet up without others at all, was also a great question?_

_There was a sigh on the other side. "Forget it." Great. He sounded pissed._

_"Wait!" Eren took the phone away from his ear to see whether or not Jean actually hung upon him. He didn't. Yet._

_"You already woke me up, the least you can do is tell me what's going on."_

_"I'll explain, just meet up with me." His voice grew quieter. "Please..." By then Eren knew that he wasn't shitting and something actually had happened. Jean wouldn't have asked him to go out with him if it wasn't something he was set on doing, he definitely wouldn't plea if it wasn't important._

_"Alright, where?"_

_"I'm on the hill, the one behind the school." If his ears weren't shitting him at that moment then what he heard was definitely a sniffle._

_Eren nodded my head, completely forgetting that he couldn't see him. "Alright, okay, I'll meet you there. Do you need anything?"_

_"No, I'm good." If that was what good sounded like, he really didn't want to witness bad._

_"Do, do you want to hang up or, or would you want me to talk to you until I'm there?" Figured if something had happened and out of everyone in our class he wanted Eren there, he might as well have tried to be nice. Jean didn't say anything for a while, either embarrassed or ashamed._

_"You can talk..."_

_Eren started retelling some story he had heard from his mum when he was a kid, if Jean just wanted something to keep his mind busy, a story would work wonders. He got dressed in the meantime, what had proven to be quite a challenge with a phone pressed between his ear and shoulder. He wrote a note to his parents saying he had to go out and to call him when they woke up, he also took a box of tissues and a bottle of water, with that he quietly left the house and headed towards the hill._

_*Call ended, duration: 17:46*_

_Eren only ended the call when he could see him sitting on the hill. He slowly approached him and sat next to him while maintaining his distance. He put down the box of tissues and the bottle of water he carried with him, figured he might need at least one of the two. Jean didn't look at him at first, he was hugging his knees close to his chest while resting his chin on top of them. It was the first time Eren had ever seen Jean be that vulnerable, he wasn't loud and energetic like he always was._

_He decided it'd be best to keep his voice down as well. "Are you alright?"_

_"Sorry I bothered you," was the first thing he'd said, his voice didn't sound better than it did on the phone. "I had no one else to reach out to."_

_If it wasn't for the current situation Eren would have laughed. The guy was probably the most liked and popular guy in their class yet he thought he had no one to reach out to. Eren could bet that if he would have called anyone else they'd be running to him right away._

_"It's fine." He dismissed him without sparing him another look._

_Eren wanted to ask what had happened, but he realized that he might not be ready to tell him anything. It was not like they were the best of friends. Maybe Jean just needed company to get through a rough night. Eren looked up and saw how clearly you could see the stars, it was a really nice night, the sky was clear and the temperature was just about right, you didn't need to have anything besides a t-shirt to be comfortable._

_"I didn't think you'd come."_

_Eren didn't think he'd come._

_"I am here though, so, whether you need support or just company you're not alone." He still didn't look at him, he kept my eyes on the stars and let him take his time._

_He took out one of the tissues quietly, probably thinking that Eren wouldn't notice. Jean could be really sneaky and quiet if he wanted to, that was something he never thought he'd get to see._

_"When I said, when I said that I had no one else to reach out to, I... I meant that I have no one I can entrust this with."_

_And with these lines, everything fell into place. Eren thought he'd be pissed by that, that someone that bickered with him and teased him constantly suddenly decided to change their mind and entrusted him with something as if he was some charity worker. But what Eren felt was something different, it wasn't pitying. He felt genuinely sorry for Jean and he didn't even know what had happened._

_"I won't tell anyone." Unless it's something concerning your health then I have to tell the authorities so nothing will happen to you, he added in his mind. "You have my word."_

_He took in a deep breath, that despite his best efforts came out shaky. He looked around before grabbing Eren by his wrist and moving to a more shaded area of the hill. Only then did he start speaking._

_"It was one of the guys' birthday yesterday, so he invited me and some other guys from primary school to celebrate, it wasn't supposed to be anything big. It wasn't anything big, it was at his house, no drinks, no drugs, a simple get together," He balled up his hands and kept his eyes on them._

_"So you know, we play some games, we talk we joke, we celebrate, there was nothing bad going on there." Eren just nodded his head along as he took a while to put together the next part of the story. He was not sure if he was allowed to say anything while Jean was retelling, so he just kept his mouth shut._

_"Then the four of us have to go home, so we say our goodbye's, we once again wish him a happy birthday, we thank his mum and dad for letting us stay this long and we head to the bus stop. Of course, we should've stayed the night..." He muttered the last part as if he didn't want Eren to hear it. "Then out of nowhere some guys jump on us, it wouldn't be anything too serious but they had knives, and unless you get held under a knife," Eren hesitantly put his hand on his shoulder. "That shit's scary. Everyone says that 'it's only a knife', 'it's not that scary' or some other shit, we, we, we gave them what they wanted, but they still... they still," Eren could see how his lower lip quivered, he didn't know what to do, so he just spoke up._

_"You don't have to tell me, you're safe now, you could spend the rest of the night at my place, my parents won't mind." What was true, they wouldn't mind in the slightest. They would be surprised because Eren tended to complain about Jean, a lot, but they wouldn't mind him staying._

_"One of them is dead, Eren... They still killed him," He dreaded for these words to come out of his mouth. Something in the back of his mind was telling him that, that was what had happened, yet he didn't want to believe._

_Eren could feel how Jean shivered under his touch, probably still in shock. He could see tears pilling up in the corners of his eyes, he could see his lip quivering and could hear his voice shaking. He could see a few cuts and scrapes on his body as well as how his hair was messed up and how bloodied his hands and clothes were. Eren didn't get along with Jean, they did argue a lot, but he wouldn't wish anyone to go through what Jean did._

_"Come, I'll take you to my house," It was the first time during the couple hours they were there when he looked up at Eren. "My dad's a doctor, he'll know what to do to help. I promise," He never thought he'd be speaking to Jean with a gentle voice, he never knew they'd be able to hold a conversation without arguing. Thankfully, Jean nodded in response and let Eren help him stand._

_The sun was up by the time Eren opened the door to his house. His dad was already sitting in front of the TV with a cup of coffee and his mum was holding his note in one hand as well as her phone in the other. It was obvious she had just woken up, Mikasa was probably still in bed, but what mattered now was getting Jean some help._

_"Eren!" His mum let out a deep breath as soon as she noticed her son standing in the door, you could even see a tiny smile that disappeared the moment her eyes landed on the boy next to him. "Who is he?" There was no anger behind her words, she stepped forward and gently took Jean's face in her hands, briefly examining the boy._

_"Dad, we also need your help," Eren let his mum take Jean somewhere into the house while he closed to door and put away the water and the tissues._

_The man looked up from his newspaper and locked his eyes with his son. He probably expected him to give him a full report on where he was, what was he doing and with who, but that was really not the moment. Eren wanted to make sure that the cuts and scrapes that Jean had were really all he had, that he had gotten lucky with the attack and that there was nothing serious going on. Regarding his health._

_"I'll explain, just, please, take a look at him."_

_Jean was already sitting at their dining table with Eren's mum all over him, she asked him whether he needed anything or not, she gave him some food and something to drink, she gave him a blanket and you could see how worried she was. That was the thing about his mum though, Jean was not her child yet she'd treat him as her own for the time being and especially after seeing the state he was in. She was a really kind woman and although there was not much she could do, you could see that Jean was grateful._

_"Of course I'll look at him," He put down his newspaper and turned off the TV. He and mum gave each other knowing glances as if they knew what had happened without Jean actually telling them anything._

_"What's your name?" Eren's dad kneeled down next to him while taking one of his arms under a more thorough examination._

_"Jean Kirstein."_

_There was a pause in his dad's movements and Eren knew the name ringed a bell. But soon he continued without sparing his son a glance for what he was thankful for._

_"Can you tell me what happened?" He asked again after instructing his wife to go and bring him a first aid kit._

_Jean's head dropped. Eren wanted to speak up, but he knew it was not his place to say anything._

_"They attacked me," Was all he muttered out. Grisha nodded absentmindedly as if he wasn't listening to the boy at all. His eyes were stuck on his wrist for a couple of seconds before he moved his attention elsewhere._

_Eren felt a lot of things at that moment. He was angry, he was upset, he was relieved and he was disgusted. He didn't understand how someone could hurt another person in that way, he didn't understand why would someone kill Jean's friend. What did they gain from that? Were they satisfied? Eren wondered how did these people wake up in the morning, he wondered how they managed to look at themselves._

_"What is he doing here?" Another feminine quiet voice. Eren looked up and sent his sister a warning glare. It was not the time for her to be mean just because he brought home, someone, he didn't get along with. She seemed to have got the memo because she shut up and continued with her usual routine._

_Another couple of minutes passed, the only voices in the room were Grisha's and occasionally Jean's._

_"He's alright," Eren nodded as his dad spoke up. "The cuts aren't too deep so they won't need stitches. The only thing that concerns me is his wrist, I'd take him with me to my office to see whether it's sprained or broken," He was talking both to Eren and to Jean. He needed his word of an agreement to take him to the hospital._

_Jean looked up at Eren as if he sought an answer from him. Of course, he nodded eagerly, his wrist needed to be treated to, even if he was a little bit anxious. Eren could see that there was something else bothering him, but the reality was that they weren't friends. They weren't even acquaintances. So Eren dropped it, knowing it wasn't his place to ask._

_"Can you tell me your mum's or dad's number? I'll call them and let them know you're with us," Carla put her hand on Jean's shoulder and rubbed it reassuringly. "I'll also ask them to excuse you from school today."_

_Mikasa's gaze at Jean softened, she probably was as surprised as I was when she saw how broken he looked. As much as Eren wanted to tell her everything, it already weighted on his chest heavily, he knew that he couldn't. Jean entrusted him with that, it took him half of the night to open up about that and Eren was not ready to break the trust he received just yet._

_"Can I go with him, mum?" She was dialling Jean's parent's number already, she didn't seem to pay much attention to her son anyway. "Yes, go with him and then after dad finishes everything bring him back here, okay?" Eren nodded while she waited for anyone to pick up on the other side of the line. Once someone did, she left the room._

_Grisha sighed. "Go get dressed, we'll be leaving soon," Eren nodded and headed to his room. "Jean, come on," he called after him. Eren wasn't ready to leave him alone in a room with Mikasa, he knew she wouldn't pry too much, but he also knew that Jean had a crush on her, and she hated his guts. There was no need for anything to be awkward just yet. Besides, he needed new clothes._

_Eren closed the door to his room behind Jean and eyed him briefly. His clothes weren't the definition of clean and to avoid any unnecessary stares at the hospital that needed to change before they left._

_"Okay, get undressed, I'll give you something fresh."_

_He stood there with wide eyes and open mouth._

_"Come on, I'm not going to look."_

_Eren took out a pair of sweats, a t-shirt and a hoodie. All of these were a little bit too big for him, so they should have fit Jean just about right._

_"Wait. Do you want to shower first?" He asked without turning around. He took out a towel and gave it to him along with the clothing. He still couldn't believe that Jean was embarrassed about Eren seeing him without his shirt when he already did, like three times a week, at physical education._

_He guided him to the bathroom and gave him an unopened deodorant as well as a toothbrush. "Okay, knock yourself out here and come out when you're ready to go to the hospital, me and dad will be waiting in the living room," Eren gave him a small smile and spared the 'hand on arm' thing since he was shirtless and he didn't want to make it weird. Eren had to keep in mind that they didn't talk before that. It wouldn't be weird in any other situation but with them, of course, everything had to be weird._

_Eren left the bathroom and headed back to the living room. Mikasa was dressed and ready while Grisha once again took his spot on the couch. Eren sat on a chair and sighed quietly. Now was the moment for him to process everything that had happened along with what Jean had told him._

_"Mikasa," He called out quietly, she was watching the TV next to their dad, but he didn't seem to react. "If anyone asks, just tell them I felt sick today or something, okay?"_

_"Tell me what actually happened?"_

_He really wanted to tell her. "It's not my place to say."_

_She scoffed. "Come on, Eren, it's not like you and Jean are friends," He laughed breathlessly and hung his head low._

_"Is this what this is about? That Jean and I weren't on the best of terms and now he's here?"_

_"Yes. This is exactly this."_

_He looked up at her and caught her eyes. "He needed help-"_

_"He could've asked anyone else instead of someone he always argues with!" It was Eren's turn to frown. She had no right to say things like that without knowing his situation._

_"You're in no place to say that, Mikasa," It was Grisha's voice that broke their argument. He even took Eren's side of the conflict. "You don't know what happened that made him call Eren," He looked up at his don with a small smile tugging on his lips. "But he had to have a good reason to call him if they aren't on the best terms."_

_"Besides why is it so bad that I helped him?"_

_Since the moment Mikasa saw him in our house she was defensive. Eren understood that she didn't like him, but she saw how he looked, she wasn't stupid and Eren knew for a fact that she was able to put pieces together. What he didn't understand was why was she so mad about that._

_"No, you know what, I don't care about your opinion on this, I don't need your permission to help people that need it!" He didn't even realize when he raised his voice at her._

_"Then you can't see he's using you!"_

_Eren decided that it was the moment when she had crossed the line. He knew she wanted only the best for him. He knew she loved him. He knew she tried to protect him. But at that moment she had crossed the line._

_"You have no right to say that."_

_The two of them rarely argued, but Eren was overwhelmed by everything that had happened and her words only pushed him off the edge. He screamed at her and she screamed at him. He didn't want to believe that Mikasa was that cold-hearted. He didn't want to believe that she could be right._

_That was when their mum stepped back into the room, clasping her hands together, a small, sad, smile on her face. "I called Jean's parents," Eren turned around to face her._

_"They told me what had happened, they said that if Jean wanted to stay with us for today it'd be alright," She continued to speak, but Eren's mind seemed to have stopped at the words 'They told me what had happened'. The other kids had to tell their parents and called Jean's to ask whether he was okay._

_Carla's hand on her son's shoulder brought him back to reality. "Eren, honey?" he looked up at her and hummed in response, letting her know he was listening to her this time. "Where is Jean?"_

_"I let him take a shower and borrow some of my clothes, I figured he might need some after everything," He shrugged while his mum sent him one of the brighter smiles he had ever seen on her face._

_"I'm proud of you, Eren," she kissed him on his head and rubbed his shoulders. Eren didn't know what was there to be proud of, but he smiled back and mumbled a quiet 'thanks' back to her._

_Mikasa soon left for school and the atmosphere visibly changed. It wasn't so tense with her gone and Eren was a little grateful for that. He wanted her to understand and give Jean a chance. Neither of them really knew Jean as a person and they had no right to assume that he was an ass to everyone all the time. Eren wanted to believe it was because of their personalities they never got along, he didn't want what Mikasa had said to be true. While still waiting for Jean, Eren finally let out a deep breath he didn't even know was in him. Both Carla and Grisha were looking at him, he wasn't sure whether they were worried about him and how he took what Jean told him in or was it something else._

_"Do you think the police already started the investigation on this?" Eren rested his elbows on his knees and tried really hard to not hide his face in his hands as well._

_"Neither of them called the police, they will probably be suspected," His dad said absentmindedly, he didn't mean for his son to hear this, but he also knew how it looked like._

_"They were scared they'd be next, they had to run," Eren lowered his voice to a mere whisper, in case Jean came out. He didn't want Jean to hear him speak about this with his parents. "Won't that be taken into an account?"_

_"I don't know, Eren."_

_Of course, they didn't, how could they know. It wasn't common knowledge and Eren was positive that more than one-factor mattered when it came down to cases like that one. It wasn't important back then, what was important then was taking Jean to the hospital to get his wrist taken care of. After that, they all could talk, if that was what Jean wanted. Eren and he most definitely had to talk._

_When Jean came out of the bathroom in the clothes Eren gave him, he could see how well they actually fit him. At least he wasn't wrong about that. Jean looked much better than how he did when he came into their house, the shower really worked wonders for him._

_A small smile appeared on his face. The first smile Eren saw him make that whole day. "Thank you for letting me use your bathroom, and thank you for taking me to the hospital," Carla got on her feet and made her way in front of the boy, she adjusted his, still wet, hair and smoothed out his clothing._

_"Okay, you boys should be going," She rested her hand on Jean's shoulder as he smiled at everyone. Somehow Eren's mum was always able to make the world a little bit brighter with just her presence. "Eren, let me know what dad says and let me know when you two are coming back here," he nodded before taking his sweater and going out._

_He sat in the backseats with Jean while Grisha was behind the wheel. They were quiet, there were no words that needed to be spoken. Eren's dad understood the situation quite well. He was the type of person that you could talk to about everything without being judged. Both of his parents were open about everything, they let his son rant and vent and swear about school and other people and then they did the same thing._

_"Jean," Grisha looked at the rearview mirror to shoot the boy a quick glance. "When we're done taking care of your wrist would you rather go back with Eren on feet or would you want me to drive you?"_

_For a second Eren thought his dad was going to pry into the situation, say something along the lines of 'I want you to tell me what happened and in great detail too, don't forget' but then he remembered that his dad wouldn't do so. Grisha's question was actually a really good one, or so Eren thought after a while. The question wasn't suggesting anything, it was a simple question regarding his preference. But Eren knew that it was impacted by the events from the previous night._

_"I think me and Eren will be alright on feet," He raised his head a little and smiled once again. It was the second time already. It was the all-knowing smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. Yet Eren couldn't blame him, no one expected him to smile and laugh after what had happened. He could see that Jean was trying his best to get better, it was written all over him that he wanted to suck it up and go back to his usual cheerful self._

_The drive wasn't a long one and before they realized it was over. The hospital was one of the bigger ones, so there was a good chance they'd get lost in there without Grisha with them. He gestured them to follow him and they gladly obliged, Eren let Jean be a step in front of him so Eren knew he wasn't falling behind. Grisha checked in and said something to the lady at the reception before guiding the two boys to his office. He sat Jean down on a stool that was closer to him while his son waited by the door for whatever he had to say._

_"Well, it certainly is bruised and swollen, so that doesn't help," Grisha went on ahead to move his wrist around a little, in reaction Jean let out a sharp hiss. "I'm afraid we have to take an x-ray of your wrist, I'm almost certain that it, unfortunately, is fractured, but it never hurts to check."_

_And so they waited for Jean's x-ray to come back and just like Eren's dad said, his wrist was fractured. He asked him a couple more questions and even tried to make small talk with him, but realized that it was a helpless cause. Jean didn't want to talk._

_"I'm going to have to put your hand in a cast for it to heal properly, I'm also giving you some pain relievers as I can imagine it hurts quite a bit. The plaster will stay for six weeks at most, so you needn't worry about that," Grisha was sitting on his chair and typing something on his computer while continuing his explanation. "Please do not try to cut the plaster yourself and do not wet it. You might think that people are smart enough to know that, well, you're wrong," He printed something out and handed it to Jean. "And here are the exercises you can do while your hand is in the cast if anything seems out of place, let me know, I have written you my number and I'll gladly look at your wrist if something bothers you."_

_"Thank you once again, Mr Jeager, I appreciate your help," He bowed lightly with his head. Eren thought that it was strange to see him so formal, but he welcomed the change. "I'll be sure to let you know if anything worries me."_

_The doctor laughed under his breath. "I sure hope so. Go home you two, and let mum know you're coming back!"_

_"Alright dad, see you!" Eren closed the door behind them and once again placed his hand on Jean's arm._

_"Ready to head back?" He didn't want to push Jean on anything if he wasn't ready to talk then that's all there was to it. But Eren wasn't an idiot, he could see that something had been bothering for a while already, you'd have to be blind to miss on it._

_The day was as pretty as the night was. It was warm, a little windy but still warm enough to go out in a t-shirt. The sky was clear and everything seemed so saturated and full of life._

_"Thank you, Eren."_

_"Of course."_

_Jean expected him to fight it back, saying that there was nothing to be thankful for. But Eren figured that if he was thankful enough to say it out loud then he might as well accepted it. The last thing he wanted was to add up to his piling up stress by arguing with him._

_Eren hummed as they were slowly walking back to his house. "You don't seem half as bad when you're quiet you know?"_

_Jean chuckled, what already felt like a mission accomplished to the other boy. "Shut up, moron."_

_"So first thing you thank me and then you call me a moron, huh?" He hoped that Jean could sense that he wasn't being serious at the moment, because if he didn't than Eren was ready to bang his head on the wall unconscious._

_"Don't push your luck, Jeager."_

_"What are you gonna do about it, can't see you punching with this cast," He snicker and glanced in the taller boy's direction only to find him rolling his eyes._

_"No but seriously," Jean started what successfully shut him up. "I'm not going to repeat myself after this, but calling you turned out to be a really good idea. You're a good person, Eren."_

_Eren was going to regret that he didn't record that. He would have set that to be his ringtone, his notification sound and his alarm. He even had said that he was not going to repeat himself and Eren didn't use his chance._

_"I thought it was some sort of a prank at first," He spoke matter-of-factly "But when I got there and saw you I was pretty sure it was something serious."_

_There was a moment of awkward silence between them. Of course, it seemed awkward, whenever they were together they were arguing. Neither of them thought that there was a moment when the two of them was in a room together and it was quiet. Even though neither of them would have said that out loud, they enjoyed the silence._

_"You're turning out to be much more of a fair guy than what I took you for," Eren hummed without looking at Jean. One thing was saying something like that out loud, other was actually looking at the person while saying it. They were not quite on that level and Eren still thought that Jean was going to punch him for saying stuff like that. He still thought he'd punch Jean for saying things like that._

_Jean chuckled. "Yeah. You're much better to talk to when we're not arguing," To that, Eren laughed too._

"Yeah, now that I recall the situation, I'm certain it was summer after the second year of middle school," He nodded his head agreeing with Jean. 

Both he and Reiner just looked at him weirdly. Before Reiner spoke up.

"You've been staring for the past ten minutes into the wall just to tell us that?"

His eyes widened a little from embarrassment as Jean's laughter rang out in the whole class. Eren didn't think he had ever heard Reiner laugh out loud before, he had only heard his low and manly chuckles, which he gave out now as well. He blinked a couple of times before pouting. 

"I'm sure it wasn't ten minutes, why didn't you try to bring me back!"

"Oh we tried, baby, we tried. Also, it might have been somewhere around seven, maybe eight. Though ten wouldn't be a surprise anymore," He winked. Eren couldn't help but deadpan. He couldn't believe that the boy was his best friend.

"Oh shut it, idiot."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, this is the first chapter.  
> Yeah.  
> I do proofread my chapters, but I do not have a beta reader so I apologise for any mistakes you manage to find.
> 
> Please look carefully at tags as I will not put TW's at the beginning of the chapters to avoid spoilers.  
> Feedback will always be appreciated <3
> 
> I will give you the titles to the upcoming chapter, so you can speculate what is going to happen, as they are always related.
> 
> Chapter Two: "Pressing The Right Buttons At The Right Time"


	2. Pressing The Right Buttons At The Right Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> its party time bois 8)

Going to detention meant you didn't have a phone with you, which sucked, yes, of course, you were supposed to do homework and not chat with your friends for about an hour. If their supervisory teacher actually cared about that, they'd probably have done anything in that time instead of chit-chatting, but Eren was rather glad he didn't.

By the time they were allowed to leave and go home, Reiner was still surprised and ready to laugh along if they stated that their friendship is a joke. Annie didn't bother to say hi and she disappeared without a word the moment she could leave. Eren was curious why she and Reiner had gotten in a fight in the first place, they always seemed to be good friends. But then again, he and Jean got into fights all the time and they still were friends, so he wasn't the best judge of that.

He took my phone from the box only to see many missed calls and unopened texts from no one other than Mikasa. There was a high probability she was already flipping everything over just to make sure that Eren didn't get kidnapped while on his way back home. He took in a deep breath to prepare himself for the lecture he was about to endure from her. It was a pretty normal occurrence, whenever he did something that worried her, she'd go into her 'over-protective mother' mode. One thing certain was that, after calling her, he was not hearing the end of this.

*Calling !Mikasa...*

"Eren!" 

Yep. Her voice had said it all, it was elevated with a big chunk of worry in it. Eren hated that she lectured him as if he was a toddler, but he also understood where her worry was coming from. He just would have prefered it if she put a little trust in him, that's all. She wouldn't worry that much if she trusted him enough.

"Yes, hey, Mikasa."

"Are you alright? Where were you?"

"I had to stay after school and I couldn't call you beforehand, sorry."

She sighed. It was either from relief, from disappointment or from anything else, it was really hard to tell when it came to Mikasa. She was hard to read most of the time. Even though they grew up together he still sometimes misread her signals, she wasn't your usual neighbour girl from behind the fence. Something about her character and mindset was always standing out to be different. 

"I'm on my way home now, though."

"Okay, alright. I was worried."

"I know you were, you shouldn't have been though-"

"Eren..."

"No! If you put a little trust in me you'd know that I wouldn't get into trouble just like that. You're not mum to worry this much about me, I don't need your protection."

It wasn't how Eren pictured the conversation going. The meaning was there, sure, but he could have tried to make it sound a little less harsh. He hoped that she would understand him that time. He didn't want her to baby him, in fact, Eren was sure that he didn't need babying, he was tired of people treating him as if he was made out of glass.

"I do trust you, Eren."

"Do you though?"

If the conversation wasn't awkward before, after his words it certainly was. Neither of us said anything for a couple of minutes and seeing how Mikasa wasn't going to say anything until he got home, Eren just sighed audibly.

"I'll be home soon," With that, he ended the short call and hid his phone back in the back pocket of his jeans, where it always was. 

While sitting in the detention there was a thought in the back of his head that he would have to call Mikasa eventually, and Eren knew that she'd be worried because he didn't get home at the time he promised he'd be so he was ready for that conversation. Kind of. Eren usually said that he was, mostly because it was such an often occurrence already, for her to be worried about him, it started to piss Eren off, it ruined his mood for the time even if he expected that kind of talk from her. It was one thing to be worried about someone and other, to be overly protective and untrusting. 

!A Idiot: how did tlkn to mikasa go?

You: just how u'd imagine it to go

!A Idiot: yikes, that sucks man

You: U don't say

!A Idiot: Well shut it. I was trying 2b a considerate friend but ig my kindness is not appreciated

You: Somehow I don't believe u

!A Idiot: Rude

!A Idiot: anw, did u chk the group chat already? Christa is planning a get together @her house w/ some of her other friends, she also dsided to invite us. u ^?

You: Please spare me ur terrible texting

!A Idiot: ur only half btr than i m, besides its faster

!A Idiot: so, u ^?

You: When is it?

!A Idiot: just chk the group chat 4 the deets, geez, what m i, ur personal news giver or some other sht?

You: Yes, that's exactly who you are, hurry up and tell me, I'll be home soon and I won't be able to text thanks to Mikasa probably

!A Idiot: just hear her out m/b?

!A Idiot: anw

!A Idiot: its @ christa's house, she said she was inviting other friends frm skl n basically said 'the mor the btr!'

!A Idiot: it starts @ 7

You: Okay, I might be there

!A Idiot: u might?

!A Idiot: what kind of an answer is that

You: The only one you get right now

!A Idiot: whtvr moron, lmk b4 if ur gng or not

You: It takes me more time to decipher ur messages than for you to actually write them correctly

!A Idiot: You love me baby

You: Now you care about being correct

!A Idiot: :D

You: Fuck you

!A Idiot: good luck w/ mikasa!!!!!!!!!!

Eren hated the way Jean texted, he swore in his head that one day he'd find a way to make him write normal, readable messages. Christa rarely threw any get-togethers, she usually was busy with herself, school or Ymir. Eren knew they had been together since the beginning of middle school or somewhere around that time, what was a really long time considering how long they were alive. If Mikasa, and mum, didn't get mad at Eren for getting detention, he might have been able to go. He wondered if she invited her other friends from middle school as well.

Before he could have hidden his phone well he was standing before the front door to his house. He had prepared what he'd tell Mikasa beforehand. He'd tell her he got into detention and that he couldn't call her and everything should be fine. At least he really held onto that thought.

"I'm home!"

Surprisingly enough no one answered, not even Mikasa. A part of him was extremely glad that she decided on not wrapping him in a bubble wrap and other blankets the moment he passed the doorstep, but a part of him also thought it was really strange. Then Eren noticed her writing something in one of her notebooks at the dining table, a sight even rarer than her not lecturing him. 

"Glad to see you in one piece," She didn't even look up at her brother. However weird it was, Eren welcomed the change, she treated him normally. She didn't get extremely anxious only because he was late, that made him much happier than it probably should have.

"Sorry to have kept you waiting, I got a detention and couldn't call you," He would have explained the situation regardless of her acting normally or calmly. It was only fair for him to explain why he broke his promise.

What Eren said seemed to have some sort of an effect on her because she raised her head just enough to look at him. "Did you get into another fight with Jean?" Of course, she was able to tell.

"Yeah, it sort of just happened," he hummed while taking a seat in front of her, taking out his schoolwork as well. "Do you mind me doing my work here as well? Since I didn't get anything done at the detention."

"You didn't? You had a full hour."

A dry laugh escaped his mouth. "I never do, me and Jean talked with Reiner the whole time," He didn't miss how her mouth opened slightly as he said that. Even she couldn't believe that he got into detention. 

"Reiner?" I nodded my head frantically.

"Right! I was as surprised to see the guy there as you are!" She put down her pen and guided her attention to Eren. She didn't seem mad or annoyed, it made him smile lightly. "Even if Reiner wasn't there I probably would have talked with Jean, it's not like the teacher cares."

A small smile formed on her face. "I still can't believe you're able to hold a normal conversation with him," he rolled his eyes at that.

"I think everyone will be, can you imagine everyone thinks we hate each other?" Eren scoffed still a little bit offended by Reiner's words. But Mikasa only nodded.

"I can see why that's all. If I didn't see you two around here or when we're alone I'd probably think the same thing," She shrugged as if it wasn't a big deal at all. "Why would you care though, it's the same misconception as that the two of us are dating," However pissed she could be she always managed to make him laugh, Eren had no idea how she did that. 

"How is it the same thing?"

"It's the same sort of 'relationship' misconception."

"I don't think that being friends and dating is on the same level."

She rolled her eyes but let a laugh escape her mouth. "For you it probably is."

"Touche."

After that, she came back to her work just as Eren started his. It has been years since the two of them had done schoolwork beside the dining table, together. The last time they did that was probably still in primary school, and that was already a couple of years behind them. Eren wouldn't deny that it wasn't nice or that he didn't miss it, because he did. It took him back to when they still were little kids. 

"Do you wanna tag along to Christa's get together today?" Eren thought it was a good idea to try and convince Mikasa to go with him. It's been a while since she went anywhere with their group of friends, she usually was the person from the group that, on short notice, said that they couldn't go. Everyone probably missed her around, even though she didn't talk much.

She opened her mouth and looked away to the side. "I'd love to bu-"

"Great! It's settled then, I'll let Jean know and he'll pick us up at 6:40," Eren knew that she was going to try and make a pathetic excuse only to stay home and watch TV series on Netflix. That day he was dead set on making his sister go out.

She sighed. "Alright, I'll go," Now, that was already a victory, it didn't matter what else she was going to say. She agreed, it was a win in itself. "But not for too long, I'll be leaving before midnight," That was some serious improvement, Eren thought she was going to want to come back home after an hour.

"Wow, this is a completely different Mikasa in front of me, who are you and what did you do with my sister," He laughed as her glare on him hardened. Looking back at his sister, he could see her shaking her head. 

"Don't make me regret this."

A grin on her brother's face was telling her that she probably would regret going out, but there was no point in trying to talk him out of it. He took out his phone and let Jean know that not only he was going out but that Mikasa was tagging along with them. He was even more startled than Eren was and even asked if she doesn't have a fever. It was kind of amazing to see Jean and Mikasa somehow get along. They weren't best friends, but they were on friendly terms and that was already something. They had come a really long way, especially since it was hard to get her not to hate Jean, and then get Jean past his crush on her. But it worked out somehow and they even tolerate each other's presence. Wonders of friendship. 

The evening just seemed to get better and better with each passing minute. He scrolled to see any new messages from the group chat. There were a bunch of people there, but not just any people, the group was specifically created for their group of friends, to announce get together's or just to chat with everyone. They were a rather big group and everyone seemed to be different and, surprisingly enough, a lot of people didn't get along with each other, yet somehow they still managed to stay together. Beside Eren, Jean and Mikasa there were also nine other people there, so it was usually one big mess with everyone saying their thing. 

There was Reiner, Berthold and Annie, they were best friends, so they always went in three. Then there was also Armin, who usually just stuck to Mikasa and me. Conny and Sasha usually sat on Jean's ass and annoyed the hell out of him, he could be spared only by Marco. The last duo was Christa and Ymir, they were attached by the hip, meaning, you found one and got the other one free, there was no other way. 

Eren tried to dig up any additional information that Jean might have missed out on. He doubted there was any, but he looked anyway, mostly because he was curious whether Christa said who she would be inviting beside them. She has only mentioned inviting her other friends, so Eren would have to wait and see. Jean confirmed with him that he'd be picking both of them up, so they didn't need to worry about transport. Maybe only on the way back, because Jean liked to drink sometimes and Eren really didn't want him to drunk-drive. 

"Shouldn't mum and dad already be back home?" Eren asked putting his phone away, he was supposed to do school work, but as always, he got easily distracted. 

"They said they'd come home late today, something came up at their work or something like that," She explained, it was a common occurrence, especially for dad, he was a doctor after all, yet Eren couldn't help but sigh. They had been staying late at work more and more lately, it was as if they hardly ever saw them anymore.

"You know it's not their choice."

Of course, Eren knew that. He might have not been the smartest person walking on earth but he wasn't stupid either. "I get that they have to stay late because of work, I get that they don't really have a choice, but I still miss them around."

Without either mum or dad around they basically lived alone. They sometimes came late at night and then left early in the morning. Eren and Mikasa started doing the chores around the house themselves otherwise they'd be drowning in dust and mould. They decided to split work, one cooked and one cleaned, they had it settled down with a game, best of three, of rock-paper-scissors. Eren being a master at the game obviously won so he picked cooking for himself, what turned out to be a lot harder than what he initially thought it'd be. The number of cuts and burns he got when he first started out was ridiculous.

"They're hardly ever home, we do the chores, I feel like we're alone in this house," Mikasa sighed, Eren knew she had the same opinion on that and he knew she was hurting in her own way.

"We're not little kids anymore, Eren."

He scoffed and let his eyebrows drop. "This is not about us not being kids anymore. I know we can handle ourselves, it's just," He paused for a while to take a breath. "It feels as if they don't even try to make time for us, they won't even know we're gone tonight."

It was shameful to admit that he missed the old days when we were kids when mum was home all the time and dad managed to get back home exactly for dinner. He missed the days when they helped them with their homework or when they called Armin's grandfather to schedule a play-date. He missed the way mum cooked for them and cut their sandwiches into different shapes. Just as they started their last year of middle school they started to drift apart from their children. It hurt and it felt unfair. Mikasa took it better than Eren did, she was always able to hold herself together, Eren couldn't be like her even if he tried.

She was about to say something but a vibration that came from his phone cut her off. Eren looked up and saw it was from, no one other than, Armin. He could feel a smile tugging on his face. He always felt like Armin was his third sibling, they grew up together and he showed Eren so many things, he taught him a lot as well. A message from him always made his day a tiny bit better. 

!Armin: You heading to Christa's get together?

You: Yeah, I even convinced Mikasa to tag along

!Armin: You're kidding

You: Not this time, she's really coming with

!Armin: That's great, I miss seeing her

You: I can imagine that

!Armin: So I asked Christa what would we be doing and how many people would come

!Armin: And I have gathered my intel!

!Armin: From our group, everyone seems to be coming, as you just confirmed that you and Mikasa are

You: That's great, we haven't hung out all together in a while

!Armin: Besides our group, there will be also seven other people

You: Some people from Christa's middle school?

!Armin: She knows them from her time in middle school, but as far as I know they're not our age

You: Huh

!Armin: Right

!Armin: She also said we'll probably just be watching movies, playing video games and board games. She got snacks and drinks so nothing is needed to grab on the way

You: That's great

You: Sounds like a typical get together for us

!Armin: Yeah pretty much

!Armin: But no drinks this time, alcohol I mean

You: Great, so Jean can be my driver on the way back as well

!Armin: Jean's picking you up?

You: Yeah he offered

!Armin: He offered?

!Armin: You do realize how weird that sounds

You: What I have told you, so many times already, is true

You: He and I are really good friends

!Armin: uh huh

!Armin: Why do I not see it

You: And here I thought you were the smart one

!Armin: I'll believe it when I see it

You: I'm just going to prepare my best 'I told you' then

Eren couldn't believe that even Armin didn't believe in his friendship with Jean, he had told him so many times, Armin even hung out with the two of them sometimes. He was being invited to our study sessions and he still thought we did it all for a joke. 

"Do you remember when I told you about Armin for the first time?" He hummed with his head thrown back against the backseat. His eyes still were on the ceiling of their dining room. 

"Yeah, the toilet incident, right?" Eren snickered and nodded lightly. 

"That was so bad, I can't believe I talked to him afterwards."

"Well, you were a kid back then," He looked right back at her with a slight pout. "It's not like it mattered."

"It didn't. But it was still weird," She shook her head whilst picking her pen back up and focusing on her homework. "Who slides down their jeans and underwear all the way down just to take a piss!" Eren cringed a little at the memory. But it was the good type of cringe, one that actually did make him smile.

"If he heard you right now he wouldn't let you live for saying this."

"But it happened!"

"You don't have to bring it up," Eren groaned. She didn't understand the gravity of the situation, so he would try his absolute best to put her into the picture.

Eren point to my head. "The image is burned into my memory, Mikasa. Everyone knows that! It's the same thing as leaving one urinal free between two guys. If you can see five urinals in the toilet, there are not five of them there, it's either two or three, depending on where you stand," She raised her eyes from her notebook and gave her brother an annoyed glance. 

"And you say that girls are complicated..."

He whimpered as his hands made contact with his face a couple of times. "You don't get it," He dragged out the last word painfully. Even though he explained it, she still wouldn't understand. 

She sighed. "Apparently."

Eren's thoughts were running wild. He had shared with her one of his deepest memories, he had shared with her his knowledge, he had shared with her secrets and classified information and all she did was sigh? How could he had thought that his own sister would understand, he took Mikasa for the smart one, yet there he sat, disappointed. His heart was broken. His trust betrayed-

"Stop dramatising, I can basically hear your thoughts," She threw her book at Eren to get him out of his head.

"Rude," He threw the book back at her, making her yelp and dodge it. 

And basically, that was the way they started throwing everything that wouldn't break at each other. Pillows, books, pencils, backpacks, bottles and eventually even blankets. Everything was on the floor and messed up, both he and Mikasa were screaming and trying to dodge the flying objects, only after tens of minutes were they out of breath and yelling surrender. Eren almost felt bad that she'd have to be the one cleaning it up. 

Mikasa helped him up and hurried him away so she could start to put the things back to their previous places. She was no fun, she wouldn't let parents see the mess, they probably would have thought there was a burglar in. Eren stood in front of the stove and intensely tried to figure out what was he supposed to make for dinner. Nothing too huge as there would be snacks at Christa's place, but he also knew that making a sandwich and calling it dinner would be just pathetic.

"Do you mind having pesto for dinner?" He shouted loud enough for her to hear, and the neighbours too probably. 

"Sounds good, don't oversalt the pasta though."

"I'm not sixteen to mess pasta up, you know?"

He could hear her snicker all the way from the living room. "Keep telling yourself that."

There he was, wanting to be a good brother and getting this mockery in return. He took out a package of pasta from one of the cabinets and started to prepare the meal. It was really easy if you were like him and didn't make fresh pesto. Mostly because Eren was well aware that his plants would die before he got to use them.

There was another vibration coming from his phone and Christa's face popped up on the screen. 

"Eren here, what's up?"

"Thanks for picking up, Eren! I wanted to ask whether you'll be over tonight or not since you didn't really reply to my text in the group chat."

He had totally forgotten to respond to her over there. Truth to be told, it didn't cross his mind once, to reply to her in the group chat. He had only confirmed it to Jean and Armin, but of course. Of course, he had forgotten to confirm his attendance to the damn host.

"Shit, sorry Christa it totally slipped my mind! I'll be there, and Mikasa will too."

There was a gasp on the other side. "You talked her into coming!"

"Yeah, it worked out somehow."

"That's amazing! It means everyone will be here tonight!" She sounded so cheerful, so happy, you could hear her smiling on the other side. 

"Okay, I gotta go, I'll see you later, Eren!"

"Yep, see you!" With that, Eren ended the call and once again smacked his face. He wasn't sure how he could have forgotten to confirm his attendance to Christa. He hated that she had to go out of her way to make sure he would be there. It was kind of sweet, but still.

Eren felt obligated to help Mikasa out, even just a little. So until the pasta was ready he was putting things back in their original place. They talked a little more, mostly about school and their parents, then Mikasa asked about the party. She had been missing their latest get-togethers so she just wanted to be sure they didn't start doing drugs and get drunk senseless with her gone. 

"A tempting idea, I just might have to suggest it to Jean," Eren hummed and nodded his head gently.

He wasn't the type to do drugs, or maybe it was the fact that he had never tried doing drugs. Their parents always told then to stay away from them and not give in to social pressure. They always said it was showing how strong-willed the two of them actually were, that they were able to say no. There might have been some truth in that, Eren never gave it much thought though.

"If one day I find you wasted on the floor I am not letting you go out again," If she'd be the one to find Eren wasted one day, on the floor, with a bottle of beer in one hand he would probably not never stand up again. 

"Well, as an adult I am allowed to drink."

"Well, as an adult you should be responsible and drink reasonably," Mikasa and her stupid logic.

"Where's the fun in that, though?" 

He made his way over to the stove to finally took care of their pasta. The timer had been beeping for about a minute by then so there was a chance for the pasta to be a little over-done, but hopefully, it wasn't a pasta pudding. Eren put everything they needed on the table, after first cleaning it up as it was loaded with school-related stuff and only then they got to eat. 

Time had been passing painfully slowly. After they ate, Mikasa got up to did the dishes while Eren went straight back to his room. As much as he loved spending time with his sister he wanted to lay down peacefully before the party, he knew his friends and he knew it was going to be really loud. His room was already dark, turning on the light would have required way too much energy from him, the only thing he was willing to do was to lay down and listen to the wind hitting the window. Winter was coming, yet it wasn't cold, some people wore coats and caps and scarves and mittens but for Eren, a hoodie was enough. Maybe that was the climate change everyone was shouting about, the truth was he hadn't had seen snow for a while. He missed it. He wondered if people that have never touched snow in their life knew how cold it was, maybe they read about it somewhere. Did their textbooks had that information in them? Eren didn't think their textbooks ever said so, they had never established on Biology lessons that snow was, indeed, cold.

He held his phone above his face and saw that he had about an hour left until Jean came by. Eren knew for sure that he wouldn't do anything productive in the one hour that he had left, so he had two options, the first one was to go shower and lie down for the rest of the time or lie down and then stress that he didn't shower in time. The second option sounded quite tempting. He might've had actually picked that one. But Eren also had to choose what he would be wearing to the party. He let a groan escape his mouth as he stood up slowly and made his way over to the dresser. He never paid much attention to the clothing he wore, yet there was a quiet thought in the back of his head telling him that a hoodie and jeans would have been too informal. He didn't listen. 

After a couple of minutes, he had reached the conclusion that he didn't care. So he picked a random pair of jeans and one of his hoodies, and with that, he headed to the bathroom. Long showers were something he always liked to take. They made you warm, they make you clean and you were generally pleased with them. He washed his hair and the rest of his body before coming out. Eren didn't care about stylizing his hair anyhow, it'd be the way it dried, that was a rule he had established when he was still a kid. Or so he had been telling himself, the truth was that he was too lazy to do anything with it.

Eren took his phone from his bed and saw three new messages from Jean. He'd sent them when he was in the shower, probably complaining where he and Mikasa were.

!A Idiot: i8 i'm heading out

!A Idiot: if u r not rdy im coming inside idec

!A Idiot: fck how long do u shwr 4

Somehow his patience, that was extremely close to non-existent, never ceased to amaze Eren. He was able to give a warning and then execute his threat barely two minutes after. He hid his phone and quickly made his way to the living room where Jean was. He was chilling on the couch with some leftover pasta that neither he nor Mikasa had the power to eat. Eren eyed him briefly before nodding his head. 

"That was a long-ass shower," He snickered and continued to eat his food in quiet. Eren grabbed the TV remote and started to surf between the channels, hoping to find something remotely interesting. "There's nothing on the TV, I already looked."

"How long have you been waiting?"

"I stopped by here around twenty minutes ago, figured you and Mikasa would need some time to get ready," He explained. He wasn't wrong really, Eren could picture his sister panicking what to wear and not being able to decide which sweater fitted her better. 

Eren thought that Jean could have left his house later then, but he also knew that he hated being late anywhere. That didn't fit his character, yet somehow it was one of the first things Eren had noticed about him when they first started hanging out. He wasn't dressed in anything fancier than he was, what was relieving. Knowing that Christa's other friends would be there gave Eren some minor chills. It was hard to even guess how they would be like. Christa got along with everyone on her way, so they all could be jerks as far as they knew.

"Do you guys have a ride back?" He asked putting his empty plate on the coffee table in front of him. 

Eren raised one of his eyebrows. "I thought you were our ride back?" 

"Sure, I can be, but I'm also taking Marco and Conny back, so one of you, or both of you, will have to squeeze in the backseats," A smirk formed on his face. He knew that it would turn out that way and he was enjoying it. 

"I call shotgun," He wanted to add 'as always' at the end of, but held back on it. There was no way in hell he'd have to sit back between two other people. Even though they were his friends, Eren did mind sitting in the middle. It was literally the worst seat. 

Jean rested his back on the back of the couch and let his arms lay comfortably on the top of it. Eren sat against the armrest and put his feet on Jean's lap. They stayed in that position for some time waiting around for Mikasa. There was some terrible, old, soap opera running in the background. Eren tried watching it but as he expected it wasn't anything interesting. 

"I can't believe this shit is still on-going," Jean snorted and shook his head as he watched the TV. 

"Do you know this?"

"Do you not know this?"

He glared at his best friend as if Eren didn't know what two plus two was. He carefully denied knowing the series to what he seemed to have responded quite emotionally. Despite not liking it. 

"This, this is The Bold and the Beautiful, my grandma used to watch it all the time when I was over at her place!" He exclaimed but Eren still couldn't quite get why was he so angry that he had no idea what it was. It was nothing new to show the same series a couple of times on the TV.

"And back then it already was episode three thousand something, this is older than you are! How come you have never seen it until today!"

Eren blinked a couple of times, he had no idea what to say in response to that. "We, um, didn't watch, TV too much?" He didn't mean for his voice to go so high up. Their parents never liked soap operas or any shows in general so neither he nor Mikasa had ever stumbled upon any of these. "I'm more surprised that you know this shit," He played with the remote as he spoke, a snicker escaping his mouth.

"I'm an only child. I was bored alone at my grandma's house, I had to do something."

"So you became a soap opera expert, huh?" Jean smacked his feet. "Hey!"

"I didn't even watch half of the episodes, I doubt I watched even a quarter of them," He rolled his eyes yet he still managed for his face to look gentle. Eren wasn't sure whether Jean was exaggerating or not, if he wasn't, then the show really had too many episodes for its own good. "We should watch it all someday."

"No."

A breathy chuckle escaped his mouth. "Thank fuck, for a second here I was thinking you were down."

"I can't watch TV series that has more episodes than the last show we've watched together," Eren looked back at the TV, recalling every time the two of them stayed up to watch that stupid show. "Never again."

"That shit was long," Jean nodded slowly and opened his mouth a little. "But in my defence, it was on-going when we started so I had no clue it'd be this long." He raised his arms as if he was surrendering.

"Fucking 15 seasons," Eren mumbled under his breath, quietly enough for him to miss out on it. He didn't think the show was bad, it was fun to watch, he just didn't expect anything that long.

The two of them had waited for Mikasa to come down, Eren was thankful that Jean dropped the talk about "The Bold and the Beautiful" but was rather concerned when he saw his friend attentively staring at the screen the whole time. 

When his sister finally made her way to the living room, Eren eyed her briefly. She didn't change her outfit a lot, she threw a sweater on herself and probably brushed her hair. She had short hair for a while already, however when they were kids she always kept it long.

"So, if the two of you are ready, we should get going," Jean stood up and threw Eren's legs off of his lap. He sighed and followed him to the door.

"I call shotgun," Eren smirked at Mikasa and waited for her to close the house behind them. "Should we leave mum and dad any note that we'll be gone?" She hid her keys in a pocket of her jeans and shrugged.

"I doubt they'll notice and if they do, they can always call us."

She had a point, but Eren didn't want to trouble them after work, they always came back tired and ready to hit the bed. At least that was the case in the last couple of years. He wondered whether that would change before the two of them graduated, what made him think whether they'd attend their graduation ceremony at all. 

The ride was quiet. Neither of them had anything to say, Jean let Eren put on whatever music he wanted and then he stopped paying attention to both him and Mikasa. Jean usually didn't talk while driving, he didn't want to be distracted, especially while giving someone else a ride. Although he came off as some really uncaring, he'd give his life for his family and friends. When they arrived at Christa's house there wasn't a single car in front of it. There were still a couple of minutes left until the official beginning of the party so that explained the lack of guests.

Jean knocked on the door and waited until the small blonde with bright blue eyes, known around as Christa, opened. Eren had no idea how she was doing it. Her face was always so bright and her pupils were always dilated whenever she saw her friends. She truly was something special.

"Ah, good to see you guys!" She gestured them to go inside, her smile never faltering. "There are only a few people so far, but please make yourselves at home."

Eren looked around and saw a few of his friends already settled down. He saw Sasha and Conny talking to Armin and Mina sitting on the couch with Annie. As soon as they walked in, Armin seemed to have noticed his friends because he excused himself from the other two and made his way over to them. 

"Hey guys, didn't think you'd be early," He said as they made their way over to the living room. 

"Jean hates being late," Mikasa explained. Her words seemed to have surprised Armin, but he only nodded without sparing them another word. "You're not the one to be early either."

"Oh yeah, there are supposed to be some new people here, I don't want to make a bad first impression," He placed his hands on his lap and fiddled with his fingers anxiously. "Besides," He continued. "It's better to be early than late."

Jean raised his hands and pointed at Armin before violently dropping them down on his knees. "See!" He grazed his fingers over his chest, his eyes wide. "I'm not the only one who thinks so!" Eren shook his head as a half-hearted laugh slipped his mouth.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Armin looked between the two of them curiously. Something seemed to have clicked inside of his brain as after a couple of seconds of looking, he smiled warmly. 

Eren glanced at him, he noticed that Armin stopped fidgeting with his fingers and his arms seemed to have relaxed in his lap. "What are you looking at?" 

"I own Thomas 10 bucks," He chuckled leaving both him and Jean in the dark. "I never thought I'd see the day you two got along."

"Oh come on! I have told you so many times we're on good terms," Eren nudged Jean in his side to gain his attention, he nodded, a smirk finding its way on his face.

"That's right, we're good," He raised one of his fists for Eren to fist-bump him. He only snickered before high-fiving his fist. "That's not how you fist-bump, moron."

"Mhm, whatever," He rolled his eyes and moved away from Eren. He winked at Jean before laughing quietly. After they started hanging out they never came to terms whether they high-fived or fist-bumped. Jean was dead-set on fist-bumping while Eren was set on a high-five, neither of them gave in so both of them did whatever they wanted to. 

Eren could see that Armin was sneaking glances at Annie, who was sitting on the other side of the couch that Jean and he were sitting on. It was pretty obvious he had taken a liking to her, you could see it in the glances he spared her or in the little things he tried to do for her. Sadly enough Mikasa had also had a minor, a major in Eren's opinion, crush on her, but she never acted upon it despite her brother's encouragement. Eren wanted both of them to be happy but he also knew that one of them was going to be hurting if the other took the initiative. So he gave up.

More and more people came by after some time. As soon as Reiner and Berthold joined, Annie was by their side. When Marco came, Jean stood up and joined him to keep him company. Then were Hanna and Franz, Mina and Nack, Thomas and Milieus. With them in the living room, everyone from our class was present. The only missing people were Christa's other friends. Ymir came by and left snacks and drinks on the table for everyone to enjoy themselves, the first ones to be by the table were Sasha and Conny, they also were the ones that turned on the TV and put on some radio channel. 

People were divided into were visible groups, it was a common thing. Until everyone arrived they were doing their own thing. Mikasa didn't seem to mind it too much. Initially, Eren thought she would be uncomfortable because of the number of people present, but she was doing really good, he liked to think that it was because it was only him and Armin by her side.

"You can't tell me you didn't miss this," He gestured around the house, pointing to the people and the, still, relatively quiet atmosphere. 

She sighed. "I'm still only talking to the two of you," But a small smile crept on her face. "That I didn't miss."

"It's been a while since only the three of us hung out," Armin pointed out, and he wasn't wrong. Whenever Eren or he suggested to hang out someone couldn't make it. "We should go for ice-cream at 3 am, like we used to, one day."

Eren looked between the two of them. Their eyes were pointed at the floor, their shoulders slumped and their faces, seemingly, deep in thought. There was an unspoken agreement between them, Armin knew that they all missed hanging out and he knew they'd all agree to his suggestion. 

"I miss these times," Both Mikasa and Eren mumbled. They looked at each other and sighed lightly. 

Armin's face fell. "Me too, I can't believe we grew apart so much."

There was this weird tension between them and Armin's words had proven to be the centre of it. The truth was that they had drifted apart as friends, they didn't talk as much, they didn't hang out as much and they didn't really know what was going in the other's life. Neither of them spoke a thing as they let that thought sink in. It wasn't anything done on purpose, they wouldn't have allowed for it to happen if they knew it'd end up like that.

"What's with the sad faces?" Another voice, it belonged to Conny. "Lighten up a little, you're at a party!" He put his hands on Eren's shoulders and dived with his head between his and Mikasa's shoulders. 

Conny was always an interesting figure in their class. He was outgoing, loud and with no filter when it came to social interactions, that meant he had never been the best person to talk to about your feelings. He joked a lot and there was a chance of your feelings being ridiculed. He wasn't a bad person by any means, he didn't know that his actions were hurting the other person unless they told him so. 

Armin was about to speak up and answer him but the door opened and everyone in the room became dead silent. Everyone's eyes were on the door and the appearing people. It seemed as if one person was missing, only six of them came inside before the door closed.

"It's nice to finally meet Christa's friends," One of them spoke up. He was a tower, a blond tower. His face was sharp just as his look on them. Eren thought that he looked rather intimidating and knew that if he had met him under any other circumstances he'd have been even more intimidated. His voice, despite his overall scary figure, was soft and clear, you could hear the confidence in it.

"I think everyone should just introduce themselves," Christa looked between her class and her friends. "That might be the fastest way for you to meet."

So everyone, one by one, started saying who they were.

"I'm Erwin Smith."

"My name is Petra Ral," She was the only girl in the group. 

A man next to her, who looked much older than everyone else in the room was next. "Oluo Bozado."

Then was another blond man, who kept his long hair in a bun, his name was Eld. Right after he was Gunther, he seemed rather shy and kept his voice quiet. Only after he moved Eren saw another man, who was visibly smaller than the rest of them, only a little taller than Conny. 

"Levi Ackerman."

"Are you and Mikasa related?" It was Franz who asked, Levi and Mikasa's eyes turned to him and only later found each other. Both of them only shrugged.

"No, I would have known about her-" His expression stayed stoic and didn't falter anyhow. He paused for a second before tutting. "Ackerman is a common surname I'm sure."

Christa realized that without her input no one would say a thing more. "Alright, do we have everyone over already?"

"Hange is being late," A sigh escaped his mouth. He glanced over at Erwin who only shrugged. 

"Well, is she going to make it?" Ymir stood next to Christa as she spoke up, clearly impatient. Something about Levi's look was different, but Eren couldn't put his finger on it.

"I think Hange is going to make it." Erwin smiled warmly at the freckled girl.

"They always do," Levi added and looked up at her, his voice dripped of annoyance and irritation. Eren was partly impressed and partly tensed. He made a mental note to himself not to piss Levi off, the guy looked to him like a ticking bomb.

Ymir did the worst thing she could have done in her situation. She laughed half-heartedly. "They?"

"Yes," He spat out. "They."

If it hadn't been awkward after their introductions, it definitely was then. The brunette mumbled a quiet sorry which he didn't seem to acknowledge. It was clear that they were older than them, they probably finished their universities already. Another thing Eren was curious about was how they knew Christa. 

Then everyone from their class introduced themselves and made space for the new guests. 

After they all sat down, Conny once again played the music from the TV and people once again started to talk. Eren wondered if any of them would make an active effort to talk to them or would they sit in two different groups. As soon as Eren saw Erwin approaching them he realized he was wrong. He was glad that the blond decided to make a move by himself.

"Hey, I'm just walking around to officially meet everyone," He reached out with his hand for the three of them to shake. A smile was visible on his face and Eren already could tell that the guy was really nice.

Erwin sat down in front of them after they shook hands. "It's Armin, Mikasa and Eren, right?" They nodded simply, hoping that had been enough of an answer. He relaxed on the couch before continuing. "Christa talked a lot about you all, how have you met?"

Eren debated in his head whether he wanted to engage in a conversation with him or not. It didn't feel weird to him that Erwin stroke a conversation with them, he was probably just trying to be nice. Yet he also didn't want to blow his chance, he didn't want Erwin to think that they all were loud-bothered kids that were nothing good to be around. Eren let himself relax and he noticed that Erwin took note of that.

"Well, we've been classmates for three years already," Eren explained briefly. He knew that some of the people at the party knew each other from middle school and primary school, but a lot of them met only three years ago. It still was surprising to him how close their group was. Armin stared at Erwin, clearly tensed. Mikasa on the other hand showed nothing, she just listened to how Erwin conversed and contributed sometimes. 

"What did Christa say about us?" Armin finally snapped out of, whatever he was in and spoke up, gaining the blond's attention.

"She told us a little about every one of you, so we had an idea who we were meeting."

Eren chuckled. "I have no doubt she only said the good things," Erwin smiled.

"You're right, I didn't expect anything else from her though."

That was their point of agreement. It was hard for them to imagine Christa talking shit about anyone, especially people she called friends. Eren was still curious about what she said about them, but he decided not to pry.

To Eren's surprise, Erwin turned out to be extremely charismatic, the conversation never faltered with him, he was able to hold it on his own, even when the three of them were running out of things to say. It amazed him, and he was certain it amazed Armin as well, who was staring at him all the time. 

"Christa said you three are friends since primary school, is this true?" They nodded. Eren didn't feel the need to add that in reality they met first in preschool, but since Armin was in a different group than the two of them, they didn't talk.

Something about his face changed, the features that were so sharp when Eren first saw him became indistinct. He had thought that he has relaxed a while ago, but something about their answer seemed to have put him at ease.

"Why?" A simple question, but it was clear he didn't expect it as his eyes widened at Eren's words. It didn't last long before a low laugh escaped his mouth. 

"That's just like Hange, Levi and I, you remind me of us," He turned his head to look briefly at Levi, who was sitting on the other side of the room, his arms thrown behind the back of the couch. He didn't talk to anyone, he sat and looked around the room, sometimes his eyes stopping at individual people.

"Oh," Was all Armin said, looking between Erwin and Levi. Hange still didn't arrive, but they were keeping their hopes up. "How did you meet?" He blurted out quietly.

Erwin seemed to have lost himself in his memories, a small smile on his face. "Don't say I told you," He leaned closer to them before whispering. "It was all thanks to a science project."

Eren frowned. "Why was I expecting something a little more exciting?" Both Armin and Mikasa agreed with him. A playful scoff escaped Erwin's mouth.

"Sorry, not this time."

He was about to pick up the topic again but the door opened and someone came in. They were out of breath, their lenses started to become foggy as soon as they stepped inside. 

"That's Hange for you." Was all Erwin said.

"Sorry, I'm late!" They hugged Christa briefly before scanning the room. "I'm Hange! Sorry to have kept you waiting," Their eyes stopped on Levi, who was talking with Petra and Eld and then moved onto Erwin and the three of them. 

Erwin moved closer to them to make more space for Hange to sit down.

"We were just talking about you."

They blinked a couple of times, their eyes flickering between the trio and Erwin before a smile appeared on their face. "I swear I'm not as bad as he makes me out to be."

"I said no such thing," He chuckled before turning his eyes to us. "Hange, this is Armin, Mikasa and Eren."

Their light brown eyes stopped on each one of us for a few seconds before nodding. Eren wasn't sure how he was supposed to react, he blinked a couple of times and tried to muster a smile as Hange continued to scan them.

"It's good to finally meet you!" The smile on their face never left for longer than a couple of seconds, they seemed really energetic and outspoken, Eren could tell that the three of them were really different from each other. 

They leaned closer to them after a second. "Okay, I'm going to guess who is who."

"You're the scary and quiet one," They pointed at Armin. "You're the smart one," They pointed at Eren. "And you're the social and impulsive one," They finally stopped at Mikasa.

He didn't know whether he was supposed to say something or not, he didn't know whether he was supposed to speak up and tell Hange they didn't get that right. But then they just laughed and grinned at the three of them. 

"I'm just messing with you, I know very well who you are, Christa talks about you a lot!" They wrapped their arm around Erwin and he didn't seem to mind, he blended in the conversation as well. 

Eren was a little disappointed that Christa seemed to have told them about them, yet she rarely mentioned her older friends, let alone slip anything about their personalities. All they knew was that she had some other friends, but they didn't get anything more, not even names. After a while, Eren came to the conclusion that Hange was even better at speaking freely with others. It was easy to talk to them and it didn't take long for any awkwardness to disappear, he wondered if that was the case with other people from their group as well.

Armin and Erwin seemed to have hit it off once Armin's shyness wore off. They both were really smart, Hange was too, but something else linked these two together. Eren wasn't quite sure what it was though. He was glad to see Armin warm up to other people, he wasn't the most liked person in school, besides their class that actually gave him a chance.   
Mikasa on the other hand was a different story. If you didn't know her you'd probably have said that she was extremely bored and desperately wanted to leave the circle, but just by looking at her, Eren could see that it was the exact opposite, she was enjoying herself, she was amused by their conversation, she even smiled lightly from time to time. 

"Levi!" Hange yelled getting the man's attention from the other side of the room. "Come over here, you have to meet new people!" Her hands were moving swiftly through the air with every word she spoke. 

Mikasa turned her head to Levi, his eyes locked with hers once again. Something was telling Eren that he was as curious of her as she was of him. For a second he thought that he had plainly rejected Hange, but then he stood up and made his way over to them, sitting beside Erwin.

"Have you talked to any of Christa's classmates, Levi?" Erwin prompted and leaned back, so Levi wouldn't disappear behind his body.

"No."

Well, that answered that Eren thought. Levi sat in the same way he was sitting while he was on the other side of the room, with his arms thrown back. Something about his person was putting him off, it wasn't a crime to admit that he looked intimidating and sounded, even more, probably everyone in this room was intimidated to some extent. A good example was Armin, who was talking and laughing one moment and then got quiet, shy and timid. 

"Well, you should!" Hange smiled brightly, I had no idea how they were doing that, their smile seemed even brighter and even more contagious than Christa's. That was a talent. "I have to talk to the rest of them, but these three are amazing," They grabbed Levi by his arm and moved him closer to the three of them. "Talk. Now."

He yanked his arm back from Hange and glared between them and Erwin before sighing. "I'm Levi," Something about his expression changed, it wasn't the same as when he entered the house nor it was the one he bared a few seconds ago. "Nice to meet you, brats."

Erwin hit him on his shoulder, it seemed like the same type he and Jean exchanged occasionally, but when Levi hit him back, Erwin started to massage his arm, as if he was in pain. That didn't look really playful to Eren.

"Stop acting as if that hurt, you're making me look like a bad guy," His voice was low, probably only for Erwin to hear. Yet Eren was close enough for his ears to catch onto his words. 

"I'm Eren," He smiled at him, what for some reason made Hange smile even wider. "This is Mikasa, and this is Armin" While Mikasa didn't really react, Armin tried his best to be nice and waved at him. 

Hange giggled before placing their hand on Levi's back. "See! I told you they're lovely," Levi blinked twice.

"I just got their names."

"That's already a big step for you!"

"What are you trying to imply?" A frown crept on his face.

"That you're a loser and need more friends! This is the perfect occasion!" Erwin was just looking between the two of them while trying to hold back his laughter.

"Who are you calling a loser?" Levi's eyes narrowed as he crossed his arms. It was hard to tell whether the two were bickering or were they a second from arguing.

Hange sighed. "You're going to scare them away," They weren't wrong. Unlike them and Erwin, Levi seemed like their complete opposite. "Try for me, hun."

Eren was confused by the situation, he wasn't sure what he was supposed to think about Levi. He didn't want to believe that he was an asshole to his best friends, Hange and Erwin didn't seem to think he was an asshole, anyway. Eren wanted to know more about him and why he acted in that certain way.

They stood up and left to get to know other people. Leaving Erwin and Levi alone with the three of them. 

"Fucking four-eyes," He mumbled under his breath before raising his head back at them.

Talking to Erwin wasn't hard at all, he carried the conversation for all of them on his own shoulders. Armin spoke up more and more, not really paying attention to Levi, who only sometimes said a word or two. He had an interesting character, if he was able to be friends with Hange and Erwin then he had to have something really special in himself, something that they noticed in him. Eren wondered how he acted he in the company of only the two of them.

"What do you like to do, Levi?" It was probably his mistake to try and strike a conversation with him. The two nerds were already deep inside their own talk and Mikasa seemed to have turned off. He did raise his head though, and his eyes did meet Eren's, and he seemed surprised.

He huffed. "Where did that come from?" Somehow Eren wasn't surprised that he wasn't interested in talking. Yet he didn't look annoyed, so he gave it a shot. 

"Dunno, you have to get to know another person somehow," he shrugged and tried his absolute best to keep his cool around him. "Asking seems pretty straight-forward."

"I suppose," he crossed his legs. "I read."

That was not an answer Eren had anticipated. "You," A slight frown formed on Eren's face. "You read."

"This is what I said," His face was hard to read, but the slight frown on his face was hard to miss. Eren wasn't sure whether he was genuinely offended or was he toying with him. "Are you surprised?"

"Actually," He made a small pause carefully thinking about his next words. "Actually, yeah. A little."

He laughed half-heartedly. "You're not the first one." Eren was glad that he wasn't offended by his words.

He realized that if he wanted to keep the conversation going he had to be the one to ask. Levi was answering and he didn't seem as annoyed as he was earlier, he loosened up a little, what was a relief.

"What do you like to do?" The fact that he had asked surprised Eren, but he wouldn't complain.

"I play video games a lot," he shared a small smile followed by a shrug. Video games were a distraction to Eren, another plus was that he also enjoyed them.

"Oh?" Something changed in his eyes if Eren dared to say, he even seemed interested in what he had to say. "Like what?"

"Tekken seven is cool."

The smirk on Levi's face became even more prominent. "Is that so?" 

Eren hummed in agreement. "Have you ever played it?"

He nodded and Eren wondered if Christa had Tekken, there was a high chance she didn't have it, she was always against any sort of violence.

"You up for a fight?" Eren smirked and leaned closer to him, resting his elbows on his knees. 

He mirrored the boy's pose before scoffing. "You don't stand a chance."

"So full of yourself," Eren mumbled. "We'll see."

"You're on," It was a mere whisper, meant only for him to hear. 

Looking for Christa in her own house, at her own party had proven to be a rather difficult task for Eren. She was nowhere to be seen even after he had searched the whole thing twice, either he was bad at looking or she and him just miraculously passed each other without noticing. No one knew where she kept her games, it wasn't common knowledge, they didn't play games at get-togethers. They usually stuck to talking and typical party games. 

He sighed. "I have no ideas where games are and I can't find Christa."

"Good thing I know where she keeps her games."

"And you couldn't have said that ten minutes ago?" 

"It was enjoyable to watch you run all over the house," Levi stood up and went over to one of the shelves. After a minute of looking, he showed Eren the game. 

He left adjusting the settings to Levi. People from his class were busy with either talking or playing cards, it was pretty typical. The voices in the room muzzled, everyone was minding their own business, it felt like home for Eren. Sitting together like that had its own sense of familiarity and it made him feel warm inside. Never had he thought at the beginning of high school that they'd end up as one big group of friends.

A pair of hands found their way onto his shoulders, Eren turned his head to see Jean's familiar face. "'Sup baby?" He dropped his arms and took a place next to his friend, shoving his hands back in the pockets of his jeans. 

Eren explained him the situation as well as the conversation they had with Hange, Erwin and Levi. 

He hummed in acknowledgement and scoffed playfully, his eyes drifted between Levi and Eren for a second before his head hung low. "You're gonna destroy him!" He definitely sounded confident about that, he probably was more confident of my victory than Eren himself was.

Eren looked back at Levi, he was still adjusting some things on the TV, fumbling with the controller. His grip was sure and it was clear that he knew what he was doing. It left him wondering whether he played the game a lot and was a total pro, or was he just looking for someone to play with. And something in the back of Eren's head kept telling him that it wasn't the latter. 

"The game is ready," Levi walked up to him and Jean and handed him one of the controllers, it was Christa's controller so of course, it couldn't have been plain black. The one Eren got was orange and blue, while Levi took the cyan and red one. 

People around started to notice the TV screen and the game playing in the background. Eren told Levi that he was ready and they started. Levi opened the Offline menu and chose the VS battle. With that, they were choosing their characters. Eren knew that there were tier lists regarding Tekken characters yet somehow he never paid attention to any of those, he played who he wanted to play and even if the other character was well above him in said tier list he still won. Levi picked Lee, a classic. Eren could see him smirking and giving him a side glance, patiently waiting for his move. He decided on Steve, he was a fairly good Lee counter if he played everything right. By the time they chose their characters, most of their friends were already around them. 

"Good luck," Eren's eyes stayed on the screen yet he could feel Levi watching him out of the corner of his eye. He didn't say anything in response, only clicked his tongue and then cracked his knuckles. 

The games were nothing Eren could have predicted. The gameplay was on another level of intensity, Levi knew the game like the back of his hand, he had memorized all the combos perfectly and he had the mechanics of a pro-player. Eren thought that it was amazing to play with someone that actually had an idea on what he was doing, since Jean has never learned anything, mashed the buttons and then complained that he had lost. But Eren wasn't going to let Levi kick his ass easily, even though he was a good player. The first round was won be Eren, the second was won by Levi and the third had been a tie. Both he and Eren won two matches in the third round and only the last one was a double K.O. People picked sides and cheered for them, but they didn't expect a draw to be the conclusion of their matches. Neither of the players expected that to be the end either.

Eren put down his controller on the coffee table and looked at his opponent. "Truth to be told, I haven't played with someone this good in forever."

There was a couple of seconds of silence before Levi spoke up. "Not bad at all." He placed his controller next to Eren's before standing up and moving over to his other friends. Eren wasn't sure whether he should be flattered or offended.

Once the PS4 was turned off and the music came back on, everyone went back to what they were doing before. Eren had found Mikasa and Armin sitting in the corner of the living room so he joined in without any hesitation. They congratulated him on the games, Mikasa didn't forget to mention that he had gotten better, but she also didn't fail to point out the mistakes he has made. She played Tekken often, Eren might have forced her into it, but she didn't complain about it. They tried to play at least a few times during the weekend so they wouldn't get rusty. 

Armin hugged his legs and placed his head on top of his knees. "Christa's friends aren't as bad as I thought they'd be." There was a faint smile on his face as he spoke. "I thought they were going to hate on us because we're younger."

"Christa is our age, why would they hate on us because of that?" Mikasa countered. She glanced at the blond and waited for him to speak up once again. 

His eyes closed for a moment and laughed quietly. "I really was wrong about them, at least about some of them," Eren recalled how Armin got along with Erwin, how they talked without a break the first time they met. They really did hit it off. 

Mikasa's gaze on him softened instantly. "They seem to be more fun than what I made them out to be." Eren nodded in agreement. It was hard to judge the other half of their group, but Erwin and Hange, even Levi seemed cool, no wonder Christa liked to hang out with them.

"They do."

Mikasa grinned. "He impressed you, didn't he?" 

Eren rolled his eyes. "Of course he did," his hands rested in his lap when he started to fidget with his fingers. "Did you see how he played? He is a pro."

She agreed without hesitation. "I bet that if you had picked anything else you'd lose." she teased, yet she wasn't wrong. 

He wanted to argue about it but realized he'd have made no real point. "You're probably right, I wanted to pick Yoshimitsu," He paused for a second and bit his lip. "But I switched in the last moment."

"It was a good choice."

"Why did you change?" Armin dragged in making both of them look in his direction. "I mean, you were going to stick with your usual character but you changed, why?"

"He was overconfident." Eren blurted out and let himself shrug as if that was nothing. "Maybe that's part of his character, but he was cocky from the moment he heard that I play, something was telling me he wasn't a newbie." 

"You would have lost with Yoshimitsu," Mikasa added after a while. Eren folded his arms and rested his back against the back of the sofa. "He has been clearly playing with Lee only." Armin agreed with her, even though he didn't play the game he had huge knowledge about it. 

He huffed out a laugh. "He seems like the type."

For the next hour or so they played cards, they talked, they joked and soon other people started to come by and join in. The first ones were Jean and Marco, then was Petra, Gunther, Oluo and Eld. The conversation was stiff at first, but they somehow kept it going, it was obvious that Christa's friends were trying to get to know her classmates. Eren thought that all of them gave an amazing first impression, maybe everyone beside Oluo, who he was just acting weird as if he had tried to force someone else's personality on himself. Petra scolded him a couple of times, but he paid it no attention. 

Gunther was incredibly good at cards, even though he gradually started to participate in their conversations more, he still paid attention to the game and was able to beat them time after time. 

"Have you guys figured what you want to study?" 

Eren anticipated that question, he knew it was to be asked sooner or later. Most of his friends had already figured out what they wanted to study after high school. Armin wanted to go for biology, Jean headed for art, Mikasa never specified, but she was always thinking about going somewhere with Eren. It was nice of her, but he didn't want her to throw her future away because of him and his undecidedness. 

"How about you Eren?" Eld's voice brought him back, Eren shook his head and glanced right back at him.

"What?"

"What do you want to study after high school?" Eren took a deep breath and furrowed his brows lightly. 

He shrugged. "No clue." Eld's eyes widened nearly unnoticeably before a smile found its way on his face. 

"There's no rush, don't stress about it," Gunther added and both Petra and Eld nodded, something about their expressions was strangely reassuring. Eren had thought that they were going to scold him for being irresponsible and not planning ahead, but that didn't happen. 

Oluo clicked his tongue and only when everyone was looking at him, he scoffed. "You should get out of your head for a second and plan ahead more." His tone was low and harsh and something about his face put Eren off. I certainly didn't like this guy. 

"Oluo, stop!" Petra's voice ringed once again, she's been scolding him since they sat down, but nothing had seemed to work on him. "You're making him uncomfortable."

"I'm telling him the truth."

He was right, Eren knew he was but he also didn't need anyone to tell him so. Eren didn't ask him for his say in that matter and Oluo didn't have to have shared his opinion. 

"Well, I didn't ask," Eren spoke up what silenced both Petra and Oluo who were speaking all that time. "So you could keep it to yourself." Jean was smirking right at him, probably proud that he had decided to stand in his own defence. Mikasa and Armin were just looking between Oluo and him, amusement wrote all over their faces. 

The man looked back at him and scoffed yet again. "Brat."

"Oluo, stop imitating Levi," Eld sighed deeply. "How many times do we have to tell you that it's not funny." The two of them stared at each other for a while before Oluo stood up and left. The three of his friends looking at his back as he left.

"Sorry, Eren." Petra apologized as she brushed her hair with her hand. "Oluo is a good guy, I promise, he just has his," she paused and thought what to say for a second. "he just has his moments, I hope you're not upset by him."

"I'm good." he smiled at her as she stood up and went after her friend.

There was a minute of silence before Jean waved his cards. "Whose turn is it now?"

They picked up where they left off without Petra or Oluo, soon things clicked back to normal and they all were joking and laughing, all while complaining to loosing to either Gunther or Eld. Who were a thousand times better than them, it was hard to hide that fact, neither Eren, Mikasa, Armin or Jean have won. Only Marco did, and it was a single time, he didn't get to repeat his stunt. Eren thought that despite losing it was still nice to play with them, it didn't feel as strange as he thought it would have. 

Before going out, Eren didn't think the get together would turn out to be that calm. There wasn't too much noise, everyone talking on their own accord, there was no alcohol, meaning no one could have gotten drunk. There were games, movies and cards, something that seemed to be childish, for Eren turned out to be one of the best ways to spend an evening. 

The rest of the evening went as peacefully. Eren talked a little more with Hange, who he thought to be an amazing conversation partner. They had talked as if they knew each other for months already, Hange didn't touch personal subjects and it got Eren thinking, whether it was their conscious decision or they somehow managed not to ask. Sometimes Eren glanced at his sister as if he was worried, but she was enjoying herself just like he was, it brought a smile to his face, and after a while, he stopped worrying at all. 

So when it was the time to get back home, no one really wanted to head out. Eren confirmed with Jean that he was his ride back and claimed the seat in the front. The five of them were ready to head out when someone grabbed Eren by his arm and dragged him to the side. 

"Hange?"

"Give me your phone."

Eren raised his eyebrows but unlocked the phone and passed it to them nonetheless. "Why do you need it?"

"To give you my number of course," They smiled and handed it back. "I honestly think you're a great guy, I want to stay in touch." Eren didn't expect that his feet shuffled and a nervous chuckle escaped his mouth.

"I'd like that too."

"Jeager!" Jean's head popped back inside of the house. "Come on, we're waiting for you." 

He nodded as Jean's figure disappeared and turned his head back to Hange. "I gotta go, I'll text you at home." They smiled and gave him a little push towards the door. 

"Bye!"

He ran to Jean's car and sat in his seat, fastening his seatbelt and apologising for keeping them waiting. He once again that day picked the music for the ride, they shared their thoughts about the party and the new people they had met. The first one to go was Marco after that Connie was finally able to sit on a normal seat. 

"Who thought that middle seats were a good invention?" His seatbelt clicked and he rested his forehead against the back of Jean's headrest. "I can't feel my ass," Connie complained, both Eren and Mikasa couldn't help but snicker at his remarks.

"Shut it, Jeager," Jean's voice ringed through the car. "Or next time you'll be the one sitting in the middle."

"You wouldn't" Eren faked a gasp, his hand finding its way onto his chest.

"I would and you know it."

Eren pouted. "Focus on the road, idiot." Jean huffed out a laugh.

Mikasa and Eren were the next ones to leave, they thanked Jean for the ride and said their goodbye's to Conny, with that done they headed back to their house. It was quiet inside, both of them knew that their parents were still in work, so they didn't worry about explaining themselves. The two of them went in separate ways, back to their rooms.

Eren took out his phone and opened a new chat with Hange, he kept his eyes on the number for a second before breaking and typing his message.

You: I got home

Only after he had sent it, he realized that he didn't give Hange his phone number. He groaned and closed his eyes. 

You: This is Eren btw

He turned off his phone and threw it on his bed. Eren himself soon followed and as soon as he went in contact with his bed, he struggled to keep his eyes open. Thankfully the light was already turned off, so he didn't have to move. He took off his jeans and his hoodie and lied back on the bed his nose buried in his blanket. It didn't take long for him to fall asleep.

The morning, however, was nothing he had seen coming. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> also yes, this chapter is a pathetic excuse to introduce new people, it had to be done.  
> the action is coming that much I can say  
> i was too tired to proofread, sorry for mistakes
> 
> Chapter three: Sometimes You Have To Welcome Pain Like Your Long Lost Cousin  
> edit: yes the notes were edited slightly, the chapter didn't really change, but my dumb ass used historia (not christa) so that had to be changed


	3. Sometimes You Have To Welcome Pain Like Your Long Lost Cousin

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> i mean it had to happen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the schedule is gone
> 
> poof
> 
> anyways  
> enjoy

Eren had established himself a morning routine. It wasn’t a conscious decision, he wasn’t sitting in front of his desk one evening and listing the stuff he had to do. He sort of fell right into it the moment their parents started to slowly disappear from their lives. He realized he had to wake up earlier than Mikasa to cook food for the two of them and if he wanted to shower and have a little free time in the morning it was a must. After a couple of weeks, the routine just clicked inside of him, he woke up, showered, got dressed, got his backpack ready and made food. Eren wasn’t the type of person to like routines, he liked, craved, the change that life had to offer, but the one he had in the morning offered him peace and stability he needed. 

He and Mikasa liked to spend time together in the mornings. Most of the times they didn’t talk too long in school, Eren’s sister wasn’t the type of person to talk a lot in public places when she didn’t have to, even if it was her brother. Eren accepted that and took every little while they had alone to spend time with her because no matter how she annoyed him, he still loved her and wanted to spend time with her. She was his best friend as he was hers. 

Mikasa woke up when Eren was finishing making their lunches for the day. She slept longer than he did, it wasn’t more than twenty minutes but she still enjoyed being able to sleep in a while longer. She did the cleaning after her brother’s cooking, she washed the dishes so timewise, they spent the same amount on their chores. Neither of them drank coffee in the mornings, Mikasa always had a glass of water as soon as she woke up and claimed it was enough to get her going.

After eating their breakfast and cleaning up the dishes the two of them found their way onto the couches in front of the tv. The two of them had a couple of shows they watched together, so in the mornings they liked to watch one episode of whatever show they felt like. Eren talked, commented, joked and laughed throughout the whole thing, Mikasa never minded it though. She wasn’t as outspoken as her brother, but she always appreciated that he was able to talk and not feel awkward around her. 

When Mikasa did talk, however, Eren always listened intently. Unless he was angry with her, it did occur often, Eren let his emotions guide him rather than his head, that made him snap at the littlest of things. But deep down, he appreciated every sentence his sister said, he appreciated her concern over him even though he found it a little too much. He appreciated having her in his life, even though he would never admit it. 

“So,” Eren prompted as he laid back on the couch, his arms under his head. “How do you feel after meeting everyone yesterday?” He knew she had fun, but he needed to hear it from her for his own amusement. 

Mikasa shrugged. “You know I didn’t mind.”

“You didn’t mind or you had fun?” Eren grinned as he caught his sister’s gaze, she was caught off guard and her eyes were widened, he chuckled. 

“Okay, I had fun.”

“That wasn’t so hard to admit.”

“Shut up or it will be the last time I ever left anywhere with you,” her eyebrows furrowed, Eren couldn’t help but laugh. He felt good knowing that his sister had fun with their friends, especially since she avoided meeting them for a long time. 

“We both know that’s not true.”

Mikasa let a smile find its way onto her face. She was never as free with anyone else as she was with Eren, she liked to think that he brought out what was best in her, even though they pushed each other’s buttons more often than not. They had been through a lot together and she often wondered if that was the case she felt at ease with him, never once did she come up with an answer to that question.

Their walk to school wasn’t anything exciting, their house was relatively close so they managed to get there on foot pretty quickly. During the walk, they usually didn’t talk. The two of them listened to music and enjoyed the fact that they could walk comfortably in silence. 

Eren was that type of person that enjoyed going to school because he’d meet his friends there. He also thought that school sucked and he hated the system, but he’d go there every day if it meant he’d stay in touch with his friends. Each of them was different and seemingly hardly compatible, but people like himself, Reiner, Marco or Christa managed to keep them all together. So when the atmosphere between them was heavy, and seemingly got heavier with each breath taken, Eren knew something was wrong. 

Right as he walked through the classroom door he sensed that something was different. No one greeted them, no one spared them a look even. Everyone was either staring off into space or far away through the window. People that usually were beaming off of positive energy and smiles were suddenly down and quiet, their faces nowhere close to smiling. He made his way to his desk all whilst carefully examining his friends, he wanted to ask but the silence was overwhelming like a curse that needn’t have been broken.

Eren placed his backpack next to his desk, which he shared with Armin, he glanced once at the blond what was enough to make his eyes widen in shock. His best friend’s face horror-struck, his skin pale, mouth open, lower lip quivering and eyes focused on nothing in particular, glossy over his own thoughts. Eren had never seen him look that way, he wasn’t anxious to learn the reason behind it either. He had always known Armin as a collected man that lived his life through his head rather than the heart. He got scared easily, but nothing had made him look the way he did then. 

Eren took his time to look around the rest of his classmates, his friends. Every face was somehow twisted in a way he had never seen before. Every face portrayed a variety of different emotions he couldn’t quite name, and each of those faces contained pain for which he didn’t know the meaning behind. And it worried him, the corners of his lips dropped and the light in his eyes died down, yet he still didn’t understand. He wasn’t sure he wanted to. 

He didn’t realize he wasn’t sitting behind the desk yet, a firm grip on his shoulder reminded Eren that he was standing and staring at everyone, turning his head to his side he saw Reiner whose hand didn’t leave his shoulder even after Eren acknowledged his position. Reiner walked out of the classroom and gave his friend a sign to follow him. Only when they were outside of the classroom, alone, did he speak up. 

“Eren,” he called out, not once in the time Eren knew Reiner did he hear his voice sound so emotionless, so dead. “Did you hear about the news?” 

Eren met Reiner’s eyes. His usually bright and warm, golden, eyes were stripped away from everything that described them, his look was cold and sharp. 

The brunet hesitantly shook his head. He didn’t want to know, he knew he’d hate whatever Reiner said next, but at the same time, he felt as if he needed to hear it. Eren saw his friend open his mouth, a moment he dreaded, and he knew that Reiner spoke up, he heard his first words and his hand found its way over his mouth.

 _Thomas and Milieus were killed yesterday._ Eren’s mind circled around these words, nothing that Reiner said afterwards got through to him, he wasn’t paying attention to the blond anymore. 

His lips quivered under his hand and his eyes threatened to shed tears if he kept his head low any moment longer. Eren couldn’t raise his head to look at anyone, he couldn’t hear anything, he couldn’t see anything. He felt sick, his stomach was twisting on itself and his chest seemed to get heavier with each breath taken, sharp pain in his chest accompanying it as if someone stabbed him right in between his ribs. He was in pain, in terrible pain, but at the same time, he felt nothing, static echoed in his head. His ears hurt from the constant noise, his head hurt from the thoughts that ran in his mind. Eren didn’t realize when his knees gave up on him, he didn’t realize when he relied on Reiner to keep him up and he didn’t realize when said man placed him against a wall. His position didn’t change even when he left. 

Gentle grey eyes broke through the trance that Eren was in. The familiar grey eyes that ever so often showed him tiny bits of affection and care. The same grey eyes that were usually so distant, so cold and so sharp now were gentle. It was when Eren’s eyes met Mikasa’s eyes he got out of his head, the hand over his mouth dropping and the tears in his eyes falling. Only then did Reiner’s words finally get to him and Mikasa was there with him. She caught her brother in her arms in an attempt to soothe him, she knew best that the sole presence of another person helped, as, in some situations, words are best left behind.

Eren didn’t know when they got to the bathroom, but he was still in his sister’s arms. He felt warm with her arms around him. He felt warm when she let him settle between her neck and shoulder for him to cry on, he felt warm when she comfortingly brushed his hair. He hesitantly hugged her back, she tensed for a second before letting out a long, quiet, breath and once again relaxing around him. 

They stayed in that position for a couple more minutes. Neither of them said anything as they pulled away, there was nothing shy or awkward in their gazes. Yet one look at Mikasa made Eren curse under his breath, something in his brain clicked and once again that day his heart started to beat faster. Eren’s brain was working on full-speed, it prompted thoughts, doubts and what-ifs, it also linked events. Events he didn’t want to remember vividly.

“Where is Jean?” It was a whisper. A mere whisper that got Mikasa’s eyes to widen as she understood her brother’s worry. She retrieved her hands to her sides nervously and stared down on the floor, any words she wanted to say getting caught up in her throat.

Mikasa abruptly stood up and dragged Eren up and behind her with a single grab to his hand. She was never particularly fond of Jean, since she could remember he was an insufferable ass, but over time, the time he spent in their house or Eren’s company in general, she got to know him a little bit more. Mikasa knew that she would never consider him her best friend, but he was _a friend_ , and she wasn’t going to let him through the hell his mind gave him alone.

Eren was conflicted. He wanted to hurt and close himself off from the world and everyone else, but he knew how selfish his wish was. He knew he had to put his friends and everything else above himself, he needed to make sure that his friends were okay before he focused on himself. Jean was his priority. Eren was too slow to realize how hard the entire situation must’ve been for his best friend. He failed to see the connection in the two events and he hated that he got so absorbed in his own self that he forgot about others. 

As they opened the door to their classroom every one managed to sneak them a look, especially their teacher. The two of them looked around the class, but Jean was nowhere to be seen. His belongings were still at his desk, but he wasn’t there.

“Miss Ackerman, Mister Jeager, would you mind explaining why you’re late?” The teacher’s voice ringed through the classroom as Eren made his way over to Jean’s desk, he gathered his notebooks and picked both of their backpacks. 

“I’m not staying,” was all Eren said before turning around and leaving the room. Even after closing the door he could hear the teacher yell at both him and Mikasa but he didn’t care. He couldn’t bring himself to care about something as little as school in a moment like that.

Even if the teachers complained about their behaviour to their parents they wouldn’t mind. Their parents rarely paid attention to their grades and attendance, they were content as long as they passed and were happy with themselves. They used to nag them about their schoolwork, but like everything about their relationship, it changed.

Eren dismissed his thoughts as he and Mikasa paced around the school corridors. He knew it wasn’t the time to dwell on that. His heart hasn’t calmed down and his blood didn’t reach the tips of his fingers. He and Mikasa checked every empty room, every bathroom and every corner they could think about, but Jean wasn’t in either of those places. 

“Fuck, fuck. _Fuck,_ ” Eren cursed as he scratched the back of his head, his eyes looking around the corridors wishing he had missed him somewhere obvious. 

“Where did you find him last time?” Mikasa’s voice made him stop pacing around and had him loosening his grip on the roots of his hair. A few shaky breaths left his nose as he met her gaze. “Five years ago, Eren. Where did you meet him five years ago?” 

It was so obvious yet Eren missed it, his eyes widened and before he answered he grabbed Mikasa’s wrist and started to run towards the exit. He managed to put his worry behind, he hoped that Mikasa was right and if she was, he needed to be in the best mood he could muster. 

*

The incident had shaken up other people as well. Hange Zoe had been particularly on edge the whole day, in a way that was new to Erwin. He always knew that Hange was hyperactive to at least some extent, but when they came in that morning, they were even more so. Erwin was ready to say that they were distressed, and he wasn’t the only one who noticed. Levi did too, although neither of them had asked and therefore had no idea why their friend was behaving in such a way, it didn’t stop them from worrying. 

“Oi, Hange,” Levi had about enough of their anxious movements. “What the fuck had got you so worked up?” 

The three of them usually spent their lunch breaks together, away from other people and especially Levi’s team. They liked to have a moment in their day when they could talk privately and catch up. Petra, Eld, Gunther and Oluo- people from Levi’s team -weren’t bad people. They all liked them and they were great assets to the company but some things were too private to speak about with co-workers. 

“I know you’re cold, Levi, but after someone being murdered you could show _some_ concern,” They stared at their friend, their pacing calming down momentarily. Levi only blinked a couple of times before his gaze moved over at Erwin. 

“Who died?” 

Hange gasped and covered their mouth in disbelief. “You didn’t hear?!” 

“I didn’t hear either,” Erwin added as he rested his elbows on the table. Something about his expression was off.

Both Levi and Erwin expected Hange to playfully burst out on them, explaining them the situation, but instead, their face took in a serious look they rarely saw on their face. Hange could be serious, they could be worried, but they always tried to make things better with smiles and laughter, they didn’t like heavy atmospheres, hence why the two men were concerned. 

“Yesterday, two of the kids we met were killed.”

Levi hummed in response. “Which ones?” 

He didn’t get to know any of them so he wouldn’t cry after them. The only interaction he had got was with Eren, Armin and Mikasa and that was because Hange made him do it. The two of his friends looked at him as if he asked something inconsiderate, while he was genuinely curious. He had no idea anything had happened after they left.

“Thomas and Milieus.” Hange sighed and sat down in front of the two of their friends. “How come neither of you knew?” They glared at Erwin and Levi before dropping their head down, focusing their gaze on the table.

“I could get in touch with Issy and Farlan if it bothers you so much,” Levi looked up at his friend. He knew that Hange took a liking to all of Christa’s friends and he didn’t like to see them down, he was also annoyed by their constant pacing so he figured it was worth a shot trying to ease their mind. 

Erwin hummed. “How do you know they’re the ones assigned to the case?” 

“I don’t.”

“Then how are they supposed to know anything?” 

“I never thought meeting with Pyxis was a problem for you,” Levi looked back at his friend, a faint smirk on his face. 

Levi knew that Erwin and Dot were close friends, he was aware that the two of them knew each other longer than he knew Erwin. He occasionally mentioned meeting up with Pyxis, going to lunches or just showing that he had an impact in the other’s life and that he had access to police’s intel. 

Erwin chuckled before glancing at Hange, a familiar smile sitting on their face once again. “I’ll see what can be done.”

*

Eren let go of Mikasa as soon as they left school’s property. His fists were clenched and shaky breaths were taken, step by step he was getting closer to the hill that stored so many unpleasant memories. His sister followed him closeby, she didn’t want to lose sight of her brother and she wanted to be there for him. When Eren stopped and turned around, placing a hand on her shoulder, she knew he didn’t want her to be there with him. Mikasa wanted to argue, her eyes widened and Eren could easily read from her face that the action hurt her, but it wasn’t something he’d trust anyone else to do.

“I’ll make sure he’s alright.”

“Let me help,” She grasped the hand on her shoulder and squeezed it tightly. 

Eren sighed as he closed his eyes. “Let me do this alone,” It wasn’t much more than a whisper.

The siblings held eye contact for a while, that would be considered, too long if anyone didn’t know them. Mikasa finally sighed, letting her hand drop while still having Eren’s in it. She squeezed it one last time and nodded. 

“Okay,” Eren huffed out a breath, a faint, sad, smile on his face. “Please text me after.”

“I will,” He said while she let go of his hand. “I will.”

He turned around and ran up the hill, two backpacks on his shoulders. His eyes searching for his best friend as he made his way up to the top. The wind awakened the single trees that were on the top, the leaves rustled and the wind whistled, yet when Eren spotted Jean, in the same place as five years ago, the sounds stopped all at once, they didn’t matter to him anymore. He let out his breath audibly, lips shyly tugging upwards upon seeing Jean. Eren’s heart was pounding against his chest, he cautiously made his way over to his friend, who didn’t look up at him even when he was near. 

Eren sat down next to him, putting some distance between them. Once again he would wait until Jean was ready to speak up, he rested his hands behind his back and extended his legs forward. The man next to him was an older version of the boy Eren met there five years ago, he was hugging his knees close to himself, his nose buried in them and eyes shut closely. Eren didn’t want to know what was going through his mind, as he knew it wasn’t anything good.

“I got your stuff,” Eren started after a while, he wouldn’t pressure Jean if he couldn’t talk to him, but Eren knew he had to try. “Figured you wouldn’t be going back for a while,” He didn’t turn his head to his best friend just yet, not unless he made the first move.

Eren tried to keep his voice as steady, as calm, as gentle as he could, he tried to muster a smile in case Jean looked at him. But he knew he was failing. His voice was quiet, quivering and sometimes cracked, the faint smile on his face was a pathetic excuse for it that made him nauseous. He wanted to be the support Jean needed but knew that, deep inside, he was as devastated as him.

It took some time before Jean opened his mouth and another couple of minutes before he spoke up. Eren quickly moved closer to his friend, putting an arm around his shoulders. They talked, it was mostly Jean talking and Eren listening, but he didn’t seem to mind. He listened to his worries, his thoughts and the connections he had made. 

“After they told me, I couldn’t help but notice the similarities between them,” Eren nodded slowly. He understood perfectly well from where Jean was coming from, he pieced it together as well, after all. “I can’t believe this is happening a second time,” Jean’s eyebrows furrowed as he clenched his fists, absentmindedly staring at them. 

“Me neither,” Eren mumbled, more to himself than to his friend. He let his arms drop back to their previous positions and he stared at the sky, thinking why it had happened to them a second time.

They didn’t realize how much time had passed, but neither of them seemed to mind. They sat on the ground, sweet whistles of the wind surrounding them, dried leaves rustled as the air moved them and neither of them dared to say a word. They appreciated the silence between them as if no words needed to be said for them to be further understood. Jean appreciated Eren’s company in itself, he knew he always meant well.

"Do you think they are related?” Jean looked at his friend from the side. “The two incidents.”

Eren shook his head. "I doubt it. I think that’s all they were, incidents. Wrong people at the wrong time," A part of him believed Jean and understood where the uneasiness was coming from, yet the second part of him thought that theory to be ridiculous, Jean’d have to be extremely unlucky to have to go through that twice.

Jean sighed. "They will probably want to collect our statements," Eren hummed in response.

Eren went over what had happened the night before in his head, he hated that he didn't see anything out of place, just people having fun together. In his memories, there was nothing that pointed to the incident happening. Eren wanted to help to find whoever did it, but he knew there was nothing he could do. That thought single-handedly brought him down.

“Do you want to go home?” Eren prompted after another couple of minutes. It was getting colder as time passed and he didn’t fancy freezing his ass off. 

Jean nodded. “Yours or mine?” 

“Mine,” Eren stood up and dusted himself off. “Mikasa will be there,” Jean nodded as he took his backpack from the ground. “Marco can be too if you want him to,”

Jean’s head turned a little at the mention of Marco’s name. A small smile tugged on his lips and soon he was nodding in agreement. 

The walk to Eren’s house wasn’t a long one. Eren tried to pick up a conversation a couple of times, yet his attempts were quickly dismissed, after a few tries he realized that his tires were unwelcomed. He tucked his hands inside of his pockets and counted his breaths, one after another, to pass time. In the meantime he texted Mikasa to come home and bring Marco with her, she didn’t ask and she didn’t mind. 

After going inside Jean quickly made himself at home, he spent there so much time that it practically was his second home. Grisha and Carla didn’t mind that Jean made himself comfortable under their roof, they noticed that Eren had become a friend to him and they didn’t have it in their hearts to say no. 

Jean lied down on the couch, his arms covering his eyes. Eren sat in one of the armchairs, trying to be patient and wait until Mikasa and Marco came over. He didn’t put any music or show on, he felt as if all Jean wanted was peace and quiet. A message buzz brought Eren back from his thoughts.

!A Mikasa: I’m going out now, Marcos with me

He sighed in relief, sneaking a glance over to Jean before typing a message back.

You: Good, he doesn’t want to talk to me anymore

You: I’m pretty sure Marco will help

!A Mikasa: He is worried I can tell you that

Eren didn’t send another message after that, yet he still smiled at his phone. They arrived shortly after, the three of them exchanged knowing glances before looking at Jean. Eren knew he should leave him alone with Marco to talk things out, but he selfishly didn’t want to. He wanted to be the wall he could lean on. 

Mikasa tugged on his sleeve making him follow her. He sighed audibly as he stood up, leaving his best friend in Marco’s hands.

*

After eating with Hange and Levi, Erwin kept his word and got in contact with his old, good, friend Dot Pyxis. They used to go out fairly often, it wasn’t always all business, Dot enjoyed Erwin’s company as Erwin enjoyed Dot’s. The two of them liked to meet up over dinner, they liked to discuss and analyze, even before Erwin got his job Dot disclosed classified information about numerous cases from the station, they trusted each other with their lives.

“Is this personal or business?” 

Erwin chuckled resting his elbows on the table. “It is good to see you too, friend.”

“Yes Erwin, it’s good to see you too I suppose.” They spent a brief second just looking at one another before Pyxis spoke up once again. “Now, tell me what made you call me.”

“There has been a murder, two men both nineteen,” Erwin intertwined his fingers without breaking the eye contact with Dot. “I was going to ask you to assign the case to Isabel and Farlan.”

Pyxis’ eyebrows furrowed, Erwin could see he hesitated, yet he still was sure he could convince his friend would he deny him. 

“I would do that, why?”

Erwin chuckled breathlessly. “Because a _friend_ asked you, a _favour_ you might call it.” 

Neither of the men were tense, yet the situation was. Pyxis knew very well that there was a part of the story that Erwin didn’t tell him, even if he asked him to, he also knew that the blond man would try to convince him to his right. It was a situation that Erwin would leave satisfied, Dot was aware of that.

“Which case did you have in mind?” Pyxis speaks up after a short while.

“The recent one that took place yesterday, Milieus and Thomas if I remember correctly.”

Pyxis raised his eyebrows, taken aback. “Why that one?” 

“I called you because it was both business and personal, that’s why I want Isabel and Farlan,” Erwin sighed. “They are in constant contact with Levi, we will have the information first.”

Pyxis nodded absentmindedly, he knew there was something about that story he was missing. He knew Erwin too well and knew he wouldn’t pick a case like that because he wanted revenge. The man was thinking three steps ahead of him and Dot wasn’t ever ashamed of admitting it. 

“Do you think it’s related to work?”

“It might, that’s why I called you.”

Pyxis hummed in agreement. “Good thing you did,” He pulled out his flask and placed it on the table. “Because if it is, then we have a problem.” He took a couple of gulps before putting it back.

“Is anyone else involved?” He prompted once again after a second.

“Levi and Hange.” Pyxis nodded. 

“Anyone else that might be a target?” Erwin’s eyes dropped and Pyxis knew he struck a nerve. “What is it?”

“A lot of people can be possibly targeted, the two men that died yesterday were from Christa’s class.”

“I’m afraid we’ll have to see the situation unfold,” Erwin agreed with his friend’s word, even if he wasn’t pleased with it.

Pyxis stood up after a while, the chair scratching the floor underneath. “I will assign Isabel and Farlan to the case.”

Erwin stood up right after him and saluted, placing his right fist above his heart. “Thank you, sir.”

Pyxis raised his palm and shook his head. “Drop the formalities, Erwin, we’re not in public.” as on cue, Erwin relaxed anticipating his next words. “If you think you have to get involved, then you better be careful, because it doesn’t sound good,” Dot’s eyebrows furrowed, his eyes right on Erwin.

“Of course.”

Pyxis turned around and headed to the door. He was never a pessimist, yet somehow whatever Erwin thought of the situation, that made him take an active part in it, didn’t thrill him. He wasn’t anxious to know his thoughts and what he thought would happen. One thing he did know, however, was that he trusted that man. 

As soon as Erwin was alone he called for his two closest friends, he needed to share the news with them as well as introduce them to the plan he had made. He was browsing through the documents on his desk when the door to his office bursted open and Hange ran in.

“How did it go? Did you learn anything?”

Levi was following them close behind, he entered the room soon after and carefully closed the door before sitting down.

Erwin nodded to both of them, before speaking up. “Isabel and Farlan will be assigned to the case,” He looked at Levi. “You are to be in constant touch with them, we need to know what they learn firsthand.” 

His eyebrows furrowed. “What is it that you’re not telling us?” 

Erwin wasn’t ready to have that conversation, he needed to confirm whatever theories he had in his head before speaking up on the matter. He looked over at Hange.

“They didn’t have anything, but we will start gathering intel soon enough.”

Hange smiled. “Great! That’s amazing, it’ll be good to work again.”

“Erwin.” Levi pushed, his arms crossed on his chest.

“Levi.”

“You’re suspecting something already, aren’t you?” The two of them locked eyes, both sharp and not willing to give up. 

“I will tell you soon.”

Levi clicked his tongue before breaking the eye contact between them. Levi was used to the treatment that Erwin was giving him, he never found it fair as he never did anything for the man not to trust him. But Levi would wait until Erwin was ready to talk, there wasn’t much more to tell.

“My squad?” 

Erwin shook his head. “This stays between the three of us for now,” Hange nodded their head eagerly while Levi gave one sure nod.

Neither of the two knew what the situation was exactly about. Hange and Levi weren’t sure why Erwin took such interest in the case and Levi wasn’t convinced that he was doing it to ease their friend’s mind.

Erwin continued after a moment. “I will let Farlan and Isabel know to report to you,” He once again eyed his friends briefly. “You’re dismissed.”

* 

Eren stayed in his room since Marco arrived, Mikasa didn’t visit him either, she stayed in her own room not wanting to be bothered. The freckled incarnate of Jesus worked miracles with Jean, as much as Eren didn’t want to admit it. He got him to talk, to eat, to smile and made him laugh a couple of times since they arrived. Eren wouldn’t ever question his methods since they worked, nothing else mattered to him. 

Laying on his bed and staring at the ceiling of his room seemed to have eased his mind to some extent. Eren got to take a couple of deep breaths, he got to sort things out on his own accord, in his head. He wasn’t sure what he was supposed to think about the situation, he was puzzled, he had tens of questions in his mind that he couldn’t find an answer to and that angered him. He wasn’t sure anyone could have answered them for him.

Hange: How are you holding up?

Eren’s eyes widened a little at the text. He didn’t forget that they exchanged numbers but he also didn’t think that Hange would actively use them. He thought that they exchanged them for niceties and not actual conversations. 

Hange: We already heard about the incident, I’m sorry hun

You: I’m good, I have Jean and Marco over

Hange: That’s good, you shouldn’t be alone now

Hange: I’m here if you need someone to reach out to

You: You too

Hange: You’re too sweet hun

Hange: Take care of yourself!

You: Will do

You: Thanks

Hange: Of course!

Eren put his phone away, he would lie if he said that the messages didn’t bring a smile to his face because they did. Even though he didn’t know Hange too long, he felt good knowing that they cared enough about him to text them on their own. 

Two light knocks on his door made him sit up on his bed. Marco and Jean stood between the corridor and his room, Eren moved on his bed to make space for the two of his friends. Marco had a warm smile on his face, his eyes smiling as well. Jean didn’t look as beat up as he did when Eren got to him, it was a good sight.

“What’s up?” He tried to act cool, his hand scratching the nape of his neck. 

Jean huffed out a breath. “Cut the bullshit,” His words brought a smile to Eren’s face. “Thanks for going out for me.”

Eren groaned audibly. “Stop with the sentimental crap,” A breathless laugh made Jean kick Eren’s foot.

“Alright, god, calm down,” Jean smirked while maintaining his eye contact with his best friend, the look itself was enough to tell Eren how grateful he really was. 

Marco clasped his hands together. “I’m glad I could be of help,” Eren gave him a simple nod, which he hoped was enough to thank him. Jean just looked at the man next to him warmly, a small smile tugging on his lips.

Eren didn’t know what Marco told him, he didn’t want to know. All he cared about was that Jean was feeling better, more than better if he were, to be honest. Jean smiled, laughed and didn’t try to shut anyone out, if Eren didn’t know what had happened he wouldn’t put it together that something _did_ happen. 

They spent the afternoon together. They talked as if nothing happened, each of them trying to get their minds off of the incident. They played video games where Marco watched Jean lose, even to him, and then rage at the games. Eren felt warm with them around, even when the laughter seemed distant and the smiles dull, he still felt welcomed and appreciated. 

His mind stopped as he thought about other people from his class, especially Armin. He had seen him, yet he wasn’t there for him. Eren couldn’t help but feel guilty about leaving his best friend alone in a situation like that one when he could see how he was feeling. He would never forget Armin’s face, the man was mortified. Eren thought about Thomas’s and Milieus’s closest friends, he wasn’t close with them, but he did consider them their friends. He stopped paying attention to the two men that were in his house, completely getting stuck in his own head.

He wouldn’t stop hoping it was a temporary thing and that everything would go back to normal. 

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> every time i write jean i hear jean from 'a slap on titan' this is terrible  
> thanks for leaving kudos and comments
> 
> do you guys have a favourite font you write in?  
> i will try to post next chapter sooner
> 
> chapter four: Fixing Other People's Shit Is Disgusting


	4. Fixing Other People's Shit Is Disgusting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> a look into recon corps

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i suck at scheduling i give up

Just as Pyxis said, Farlan and Isabel were assigned to the case. Levi has been in constant contact with the two of them, they told him every piece of information they managed to find out, which wasn’t a lot. It didn’t please him, the intel they have gathered was close to nothing, it wasn’t anything they could workaround. Erwin tried to pull strings to find out more, but nothing worked. Neither they nor the police had any idea of the identity of the culprit. Levi didn’t like sitting around, he told himself if they didn’t find anything soon he’d take the case in his own hands, despite Erwin’s warnings. 

Hange and Levi discussed between themselves as to why Erwin took such interest in the incident. Levi understood that he could have been worried about Hange’s wellbeing and sanity, but Erwin himself seemed over the edge. 

_ “Did Isabel and Farlan find anything?” Hange sat down in front of their friend, two cups of tea in their hands. They put one of them in front of Levi, a silent form of bribery.  _

_ “No,” He paused, meeting their gaze. “Not yet.” _

_ Hange groaned as they put their feet on the table making Levi’s brow twitched. “I wonder how Christa is doing,” They focused their look on a wall, not paying attention to their friend. “I bet it wasn’t easy for them all.” _

_ Levi’s eyebrows furrowed. “Just ask them if you’re so worried.” _

_ “I will!” Hange put their feet on the floor once again, their hands meeting the table with a loud slap. “Did Erwin tell you why he took interest in this?” _

_ Levi took a second to think about his answer. “No,” Another pause. “I wouldn’t tell you even if he did, just ask him yourself.” _

_ Hange sighed resignedly. “I wonder if we’ll be taking the initiative.”  _

_ Levi did too, but all he did was take a sip of the tea they brought him. _

Levi knew that Erwin was wary of his uncle, there was no hiding that he didn’t like Kenny. Isabel and Farlan, but also Levi, were warned many times about their so-called guardian. Levi never let any warnings or threats get to him, he didn’t like his uncle, he didn’t support what he was doing but he knew that Kenny would never hurt him or his friends. All three of them did know that, and even someone as close to them as Erwin wouldn’t change their minds.

“Did we learn anything or you called us here for nothing?” Levi glared at Erwin, the man responding with the same, cold, expression.

The blond dismissed his friend’s comment and spoke up pretending he didn’t hear Levi’s words. “We are going to tell the rest of the team about the ongoing activities.”

“Why now?” Hange’s eyebrows furrowed lightly as they scratched their jaw. Erwin closed his eyes for a moment, taking a second to think about his next words. 

It was both a perk and a disadvantage. Erwin was a collected man, he always knew how to put his words together, extremely smart, extremely charismatic, extremely good with other people. Levi knew that he could read people simply by looking at them, one glance and he could judge their character quite well. He was also secretive, despite trusting his friends he wasn’t open with them when it came to work-related matters, yet somehow, both Levi and Hange always could tell when Erwin was keeping things away from them.

“Because this is the best moment to acquaint the rest with the details,” He held eight folders in his hands, each holding the same information in it. “Everything we have on the case is here.”

Levi crossed his arms. “So this is  _ a  _ case now?”

He could tell that Hange turned their head to look at him, and so did Erwin, who held his gaze, yet his look softened.

“I’m afraid we will have to intervene sooner or later.”

“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me,” His eyes widened as his voice came out a whisper. 

Erwin sighed, breaking the eye-contact between them and turning his head away. “Unfortunately, no.”

“Levi,” He felt a hand on his shoulder and immediately knew it was Hange. “Think of this as another job.” 

He scoffed. “Another job?” He brushed the hand off of his shoulder. “It’s my uncle you’re accusing of planning a fucking terrorist attack,” Levi didn’t let his voice raise, he kept himself in check even though he knew he had every right to be angry.

Erwin’s brows furrowed. “I warned you about him.” Levi couldn’t help but scoff audibly. 

“I stand by what I said.”

“You’ll disappoint yourself even further.” 

Levi didn’t say another word afterwards. Tension around them was easy to pick up on when Isabel, Farlan and his squad came in, they felt it as well, but much to Levi’s delight they didn’t comment on it.

It was a formal meeting, Erwin greeted them and briefly explained as to why they were all there. He gave everyone a folder and let them work their way through. Levi couldn’t read without frowning, everything pointed at Kenny being the bad guy, he felt Isabel and Farlan looking at him, as confused and angry as he was. But he learned his place a long time ago, it was pointless for him to speak up. 

“As you can see the situation doesn’t look good and will require us to intervene in the worst-case scenario,” Erwin briefly eyed everyone in the room. “If any of you have any questions, this is the time to ask them.”

“This is a mistake!” Isabel threw her folder to the ground as she stood up from her place. “You got it all wrong!” 

Levi looked at Farlan before moving his gaze onto Isabel. She voiced both his and Farlan’s thoughts. Levi never wanted Isabel to be related to his work in any way, he always tried to keep her out of it, he used to lie to her, and so did Farlan, just so she wouldn’t want to start doing it as well. 

“Isabel,” Farlan tried to bring her to sit back down by placing a hand on her shoulder.

She wriggled out of his hold. “No!’ She shook her head as her arms numbly fell back to her sides. “He would never do that,” Everyone was looking at her by then. “He’s not a murderer,” It was merely a whisper, yet somehow that whisper was enough to break Levi’s heart.

Erwin took a deep breath. “I will put you off the case if you’re incapable of doing your work.”

“Erwin,” Levi warned, his eyebrows furrowed. 

“But,” She looked up at her boss, the way he looked at Isabel was enough for her to change her attitude. “I’ll do it.”

She sat down once again, Levi and Farlan exchanged knowing glances, but not another word was spoken between them. 

As Erwin answered the questions, Levi opened his folder once again, he browsed through the photos, the information and connections he had made. He didn’t like that Erwin’s accusations made sense, he wouldn’t audibly say that he was right, yet deep down Levi knew he was. He was aware that allegations against Kenny were right.

Officially they were nothing more but an accounting business. Yet what was official and what was real were two completely different things. The group was a secret, it was unofficial and everyone swore in their contract to never speak about it. They were a part of a counter-terrorist force, founded in secret by the government and later given to Dot Pyxis to form and recruit suitable persons. The rule was fully in the Commander’s, Erwin’s, hands; Pyxis became merely a consultant after giving up command. 

Their task was mostly to protect people and gather intel. Sometimes they were given a notice about an on-going, or up-coming terrorist attack from Dot Pyxis or another person he trusted, that knew about the group. Their identities were protected and alibis were made when the situation called for it. 

They had their roles in the group. Upon their skills, they were put between five different professions: commander, combatant, frontliner, sniper and hacker. Each one of these held responsibilities both unique to their role as common to the group. 

The Commander was the head of Recon Corps, Erwin Smith was chosen for the role, he was also the first member of the organization. The Commander didn’t have to, but could, work on the battlefield. Pyxis prioritized their intelligence when looking for the right person. It had to be someone that thought three steps ahead of their team, that would be able to choose between the mission and their people quickly when the situation called for it. The Commander was in direct touch with the Pyxis but didn't take orders from him. 

Combatants were the main force of Recon Corps, therefore it was expected of them to be highly knowledgeable and dependable. Beside basic battle skills, decision making and teamwork was also prioritized. Their physique had to be impeccable as well as different combat styles, both hand-to-hand as well as with the usage of guns and knives. They were the ones that stepped onto the battlefield, usually divided into squads. 

Frontliners were people that utilized their momentum to their advantage. They were using vertical manoeuvring equipment, which allowed them to make impossible turns and surprise their opponents. Alas using it required special training and good spatial recognition to utilize well. They had to be proficient with handguns and their aim had to be impeccable, being able to hit their targets while moving.

Snipers were the ones that provided information about the enemies whereabouts before the combatants and frontliners stepped in. They positioned themselves so that they were unnoticeable, behind enemy lines, which required stealth. Usage of long-range weaponry was an obvious, necessary, skill, aim and extreme patience, as well as quick, rational, thinking, were prioritized. 

Hackers provided data and intel for the Commander and their teammates. Basic and advanced computer skills were looked for. Knowledge of programming as well as the skill of using it itself was also important for Erwin and Dot. Problem-solving, creativeness, quick-thinking were also needed for the position. 

“Commander,” Gunther spoke up and waited until he had his boss’ attention. “I mean no disrespect, and I don’t doubt your judgement, but Ackerman’s gang doesn’t seem like the one to plan an organised attack.”

Erwin hummed as he placed his chin atop his intertwined hands. “Good point, Schultz.” He raised his head lightly to look between other people in the room.

“Does anyone else also see anything that’s out of place?”

Levi didn’t understand the sudden shift in Erwin’s behaviour. He wasn’t sure as to why he accepted Gunther’s worries but not Isabel’s or his. 

“His people do not work well together, Commander?” Petra questioned lightly raising her hand. 

“They do not, that’s true Ral,” He paused for a second. “What else?” 

Farlan scoffed under his breath. “He sent a warning directly to all of you?” He looked at Erwin. “Didn’t he, Sir?”

“He did.”

Hange gasped as their headshot upwards. “Thomas and Milieus!” The rest of the people in the room turned their heads at them. “They were the warning, weren’t they?” Their face twisted into a faint grimace for a moment before turning back to normal. 

“Kenny wouldn’t kill just to warn us,” Isabel tried, her eyes stuck on the floor and her voice quiet, strained. Her remark passed unnoticed by everyone else. 

Erwin finally spoke up. “That is what we suspect, Zoe,” He stood up and collected the folders from people around. “We must have been watched and he somehow had to know our identities.” 

“That’s impossible, sir, our identities are well protected,” Eld shook his head a couple of times, he wouldn’t believe that Kenny was that good that he figured out who they were.

“Unless someone told him,” Gunther nodded, his eyes meeting Eld’s. 

Erwin placed the folders on his desk with a loud slap, that shut the commotion, that Gunther created, down. “That’s all for today, you’re all dismissed.” 

It was unusual for him to shut a meeting down in a moment like that when everyone was discussing something. Levi knew that neither of them suspected him or Isabel or Farlan. As they might have a bias towards Kenny, but they too signed a contract that forbade them from speaking about their profession and the group itself. 

“Zoe, Ackerman, you two stay.” 

Levi didn’t move an inch until everyone beside him, Hange and Erwin were gone. Only then did he take a deep breath and stood up from his place. 

“What was that all about?” He prompted simply. 

“From now on this is the only place we talk in about work-related matters,” Hange frowned as their arms crossed. “There is a spy in our ranks,” His eyes immediately found Levi’s.

“I  _ sincerely  _ hope you don’t think it’s me, Isabel or Farlan.”

Erwin sighed. “Of course not, Levi.” 

“Then who?” Hange corrected their glasses, their other hand placed on their hip.

“I don’t know yet, that’s why I want you to keep your eyes open,” Levi directed his eyes onto the floor as he nodded in agreement. “Kenny probably knows who we are and how we operate.”

“You know I can try to talk to him.”

He was quickly cut off by Erwin. “Absolutely not!”

“Do you have a deathwish, Levi?” Hange frowned.

“You know he wouldn’t hurt me.”

Hange scoffed as they let their arms drop by their sides. Erwin placed a hand on his shoulder.

“We’re not eager to find out, don’t contact him.” 

He looked between both Hange and Erwin before sighing. “Whatever.”

“If it comes down to an attack,” Hange started. “And your allegations regarding the spy are correct,” Their gaze was stuck on the floor as their hand lightly gripped their chin. “Then wouldn’t our usual strategy be compromised?”

“They probably already learn how to work against our equipment,” Levi agreed. 

“You’re probably both right,” Erwin sighed as he sat back down behind his desk. “I will talk this over with Pyxis, Hannes and Mike, when I do, we will meet up together to talk you through it,” There was a pause as his jaw clenched for a brief moment. “Unless the attack occurs first, in which case,” A faint smile crept onto his face. “I trust you two on the field to keep yours and others lives safe.”

Levi frowned. “You won’t be there?” 

“I will want to be.”

*

Spending the day with Marco and Jean turned out to be great. Both Eren and Marco helped to get Jean’s mind off of the incident, as well as have fun. Mikasa didn’t come out of her room to them, she was watching Netflix and turned out to be sleeping later on. Marco had to go home in the evening, but Jean stayed behind. Neither Eren nor Mikasa minded him staying the night.

“You really have to ask Marco out,” Eren blurted out as he picked up dirty plates from the coffee table. Jean glared right back at him. “You know I’m right, stop giving me that look.”

He sighed. “Um, I’m, I’m still not sure.”

Eren let out a dry laugh, it wasn’t often when Jean let himself stammer over his own words like that. But when he did, Eren thought it to be both funny and adorable. 

“I am,” He smirked. “Don’t you trust my judgement?” 

Jean rolled his eyes. “I don’t.”

Eren clenched over at his heart through his shirt. “That hurt you idiot.”

“But for real,” Eren turned around to face his friend once again. “He will totally agree but you have to ask him out.”

“Why can’t  _ he  _ ask  _ me  _ out?”

“We’re talking about Marco here,” Eren deadpanned. “The kind, reasonable, but also very much shy, Marco.”

Jean fell onto the couch and covered his eyes with his arms. “I hate it when you’re right,” Eren hummed in response, a small smile appearing on his face. 

A moment passed and both of them stayed in welcoming silence, it was only when Eren gasped audibly that Jean reacted. 

“What now?”

“What if,” Eren grasped Jean by his wrist and pulled him up so the man was sitting. “What if we make something tomorrow and you can get him that and you can spend the day together!”

Jean blinked a couple of times before frowning. “Why the fuck are you so happy?”

“You didn’t answer me!” 

He sighed. “What did you exactly have in mind?” 

Eren let his eyes wander around the room for a moment before his face was beaming once again. “Cupcakes!” 

“You can’t bake, Eren,” Jean tried to argue but only got smacked in his head as a response.

“Shut up,” Eren laughed. “You can though, I still can help.”

Jean held the bridge of his nose as he sighed. “I won’t change your mind, will I?”

“Nope.” 

“Tomorrow though, I’m fucking exhausted,” Jean fell back onto the couch once again and groaned as he felt a tug to his arm once again. “Leave me alone.”

“Go to bed, idiot.”

The night was peaceful, as there was no word better to describe it. Jean didn’t wake up during the night, he didn’t toss in the bed, he didn’t scream or cry and he didn’t move to Eren’s bed in his sleep. When Eren woke up Jean was still in his bed, covered by his duvet, the only sound in his room being his rhythmic inhales and exhales. 

He didn’t make anything special for breakfast, scrambled eggs with a cup of milk, even though it wasn’t considered typical, especially not the cup of milk that most found to be weird, Eren didn’t mind, he liked both alone, so together they weren’t half as bad as people made it out to be. 

Eating breakfast alone, in quiet, was both amazing and draining for Eren. He appreciated the silence, the occasional clinking of the fork against the plate, the breaths he drew in and out. It all spoke ‘calm’ and he couldn’t help but adore it. Yet eating alone was strangely unfamiliar, it brought a faint feeling of anxiety in his chest, though it was so small he didn’t pay much attention to it. 

Eren checked the messages on his phone after he was done with eating, there were a few from Armin and surprisingly, he received some from Annie. He looked through all of them before replying.

!Armin: I mailed you what we did in school today

!Armin: Figured you’d need it

!Armin: How are you all doing, you left without any notice

You: Shit, sorry for replying late

You: It’s better now, thanks for the notes

You: How are you holding up?

Then was Annie.

Annie: Is everything okay? You left in a hurry

You: Yep, I’m good now, thanks for asking tho

You: What about you?

Right after he sent the message and put his phone away, there was another vibration from it. 

Annie: All is good

Eren smiled at the text. Even though he wasn’t close to Annie, she still mattered to him and he cared about her.

You: How about Reiner? 

Annie: He’s more angry than sad, you know him

You: Right

Annie: He’s just fed up with the situation and how everyone’s been behaving

You: He’s not wrong to feel that way

Annie: That’s what I told him

Annie: I gotta go now, hmu when you wanna talk

You: Sure :)

“Why are you up so early?” Jean slowly made his way to the fridge and took a look inside, closing it after not finding anything that he liked.

“It’s past nine.”

He raised his eyebrows. “My question stands.”

Eren laughed dryly. “Dunno, I slept well and got up early,” He shrugged as he watched Jean put some of the eggs he made on a plate. 

“Well, you better clean the mess you made if you want to get to baking,” He sat down in front of Eren and yawned, still half asleep. 

“Okay, okay, give me a moment.”

Cleaning wasn’t anything he particularly enjoyed, but he didn’t mind it either. Especially washing dishes, it was something he easily put up with and if Mikasa had a problem with his doings, she just did the dishes over herself. Which happened more often than she’d like to admit. 

Baking with Jean turned out to be more fun than Eren thought it would be. It was also interesting for him to see how bossy Jean got in the kitchen, that had more to do with the fact that the cupcakes they baked were for Marco, but Eren decided not to tease him about it. He was happy that his friend had finally the courage to ask Marco out, or maybe he was just tired of him pinning over him. It was both. 

The cupcakes turned out to be good, they weren’t perfect, a little bit overdone in a couple of spots, but they were fine. It didn’t matter, in the end, the frosting would cover most imperfections and that calmed both of the men down. 

Eren watched as Jean started to decorate, carefully, trying to avoid any mistakes. Seeing how he smiled at stupid cupcakes, he knew that everything would be alright.

*

Levi was halfway to his apartment when he realized that what he was doing was a bad idea. He got a clear order to stay away from his uncle, yet by taking the next steps towards his home, he was deliberately disobeying it. He trusted Erwin’s judgement, in fact, he trusted him with his life, but Levi knew that Erwin wouldn’t understand why he needed to have that talk with Kenny. 

He stood in front of the door for a couple of minutes, gathering the courage to get inside and face his uncle. With a hand on the handle, it wasn’t anything hard to just press on it and step forward, yet Levi’s confidence seemed to have faltered. 

Then the door opened. “Are you going to come in or just stand outside like an idiot?” Kenny stood in front of him with a grin on his face. Levi only scoffed and pushed by him without sparing him a look. 

“So, what brings you here, nephew?” Kenny followed close-by and only when they reached the living room he sat down and looked at Levi.

Levi crossed his arms. “We need to talk.”

A faint chuckle was his response at first. “That much I figured out,” Kenny sighed, a smirk on his face. “You don’t visit me unless you want something.”

Levi didn’t reply. 

“What do you need to know?”

“Why did you order to kill two kids from Christa’s class?” 

Kenny’s eyebrows furrowed, the smirk on his face disappearing in an instant. “Christa? The small blonde?”

“Why did you give that order?” Levi pressed.

“I didn’t order anything like that,” Kenny stressed while directly looking at his nephew. “I have no business with these brats.” 

Levi scoffed. “Yet somehow it all comes back to you and your gang.”

“Look,” Kenny sighed as he rested his elbows on his knees. “I didn’t kill the kids nor did I give an order to do so.” 

“Why don’t I believe you?” 

Something about Kenny’s behaviour didn’t fit. Levi could tell that there was something wrong with him, yet he couldn’t quite put his finger on it. 

Kenny laughed dryly. “When did I ever lie to you, kid?” 

Their eyes met and, as much as Levi hated to say it, he could tell that his uncle was being genuine. The look in his face was all too familiar, a look Kenny gave him every time he spoke about his field of work or a promise he made to him. But Levi still wasn’t happy with the outcome, because everything that they have gathered pointed at him anyways, it was his word against the evidence, and even if Levi believed him, he couldn’t act on it.

“Then who is framing you?” 

“I have many enemies, you know that, kid.”

“They will come after you,” Levi’s brows furrowed, there was sorrow behind his eyes. “You know that right?” 

Kenny chuckled, resting his back against the couch. “It comes with work.”

“Whatever,” Levi turned around, pissed, annoyed and displeased with the conversation. He would have rather found out that the order was sent by his uncle, that way he’d at least know who did it, it wouldn’t matter how much it pained him. 

Kenny sighed. “Kid,” He called out after him. “Kiddo,” He tried again, following his nephew, but Levi didn’t stop. “Levi.” 

It was rare for his uncle to call him by his name. When it did happen, it wasn’t usually in an affectionate tone. It made him stop in his tracks and turn his head around to look back at Kenny. The look on his face wasn’t a happy one but he didn’t know why would he be feeling upset. Levi came to him for answers but he’d be leaving with more questions.

“What,” He spat.

“Come on, why are you pissed now?” Levi scoffed. 

Levi was pissed because he felt torn. He was torn between the evidence that pointed at his uncle and Kenny’s actual word. He was pissed because the only family he was close with was either being framed and in danger or manipulating him by using the bond between them. Levi had never had troubles with making decisions, yet somehow, the one he faced then was taking a toll on him.

“I’m not pissed.”

Kenny sighed. “I can see right through you, you know that?” He tried to catch eye-contact with Levi, who profusely avoided his gaze. “You’re not as stoic as you might think.”

Levi turned around to face his uncle. “Whatever fucked up shit you’re planning isn’t going to work, so you might as well drop it before you get yourself killed.” 

“Look, kid, I tell you again,” He rested his hand on his lower back. “I’m not planning anything.” 

Levi’s brow twitched. “This is why I can’t fucking believe you!” He spat, finally raising his voice. “I can’t believe you’d lie to me about this!” 

“Levi,” Kenny’s face softened. “I will tell you one last time, that I am not lying to you.” 

Levi scoffed. “You will have to either believe me or the evidence you have gathered,” He continued and placed one hand on his nephew’s shoulder. 

“I wish I could give you more than my word.” 

Levi shrugged the hand off of his shoulder without looking away from his uncle. He didn’t know what to say, he was speechless not because Kenny surprised him, but because he couldn’t find words fitting as a reply. He knew that arguing with his uncle was pointless, especially when he questioned where his loyalties lied. 

He left the house angry, without saying a word, not even a goodbye. By the way, the conversation rolled he knew he essentially chose a side. By accusing his uncle of lying to him, killing two kids and plotting an attack against, god knew who, he chose to stay by Recon Corps. There was no way he could tell whether it was right or wrong, Levi tried his best not to think about it as he wandered around the streets, wishing his head would finally cool down. 

The weather was perfect for late-night strolls, the sky was clear, it was chilly and people weren’t around. The only sounds were either nature or cars that passed him by. The scenery calmed him down, and despite still feeling extremely shitty, Levi managed to sort out his thoughts. 

He knew he wouldn’t have to talk about what had happened between him and his uncle with Erwin unless he found out, however, he also knew that Erwin would be suspecting Levi of talking with Kenny as soon as he stepped into his office again. Truth to be told Levi knew that Erwin doubted him the moment he left. 

He thought about contacting Farlan. He even thought about contacting Isabel, thinking she also had the right to know, but he ended up not talking to either of them. He wasn’t sure if he’d be able to relay the news to them, Levi didn’t know where he stood on the matter and as much as he wanted to trust both parties, he knew how unrealistic and impossible it was. He wondered if Kenny knew that he worked in Recon Corps if he’d tell him. Then again, Erwin had told them about the spy, so his uncle probably knew already. Maybe that was why he wouldn’t tell him. Maybe that was enough to make him lie to him. 

Levi was tired of thinking about the case and his uncle but he also wanted to talk about it to someone. He pulled out his phone and browsed through his contacts until his finger lingered above one. 

You: Are you at home right now?

Hange: You bet I am

Hange: It’s late where else would I be?

You: Mind if I drop by?

Hange: Of course not, dumpling! 

Hange: My doors are always open for you!

You: I take it back

Hange: You called, now you must come

Hange: I’ll brew you your favourite tea

You: Deal

Levi wasn’t far from Hange’s place. The walk wasn’t going to be longer than twenty minutes, and he needed the time to cool off completely anyways. Hange wouldn’t be angry with him if he was to be impulsive or an asshole, because he was aware he was both of these things on a daily basis. Hange was like a leech that wouldn’t stop clinging to him even if he hit them with a bat, they were extremely patient and persistent and somehow put up with Levi. As much as Levi hated to admit it, he was thankful for having them in his life. 

He walked inside without announcing himself, after taking off his shoes he made his way to the kitchen where he hoped to find his friend. Levi was right, Hange was there, brewing his promised tea while humming quietly.

“Hey,” He sat down on the chair and rested his elbows on the table. 

Hange turned their head around and smiled brightly. “It’s great to see you.”

“We saw each other not too long ago,” He deadpanned, Hange only shushed him. 

“Doesn’t matter, you never visit anyways, it’s worth celebrating!” 

“You’re exaggerating.”

They placed two cups of tea on the table, Levi grasped his between his hands for warmth. “Sure I am,” Hange winked.

“So what happened?” They continued after a second.

Hange was one of few people that Levi trusted with everything. Despite them being loud, clingy, obnoxious and sometimes even annoying, Levi considered them his first choice whenever he had a lot on his mind. It was due to Hange being able to miraculously read his mind and him not having to explain everything in great detail. They understood him even though his wording generally wasn’t good. 

Levi sighed. “The case,” Hange’s face fell instantly.

“Oh hun,” A faint smile appeared on their face. “It’s bothering you this much?” 

Levi knew they didn’t mean to offend him anyhow, yet their words pushed all the wrong buttons. 

“Of course it bothers me  _ this  _ much,” He scoffed.

“Tell me what’s going on in this genius brain of yours,” Hange didn’t let his attitude get to them, another thing that amazed Levi.

He sipped his tea and made a mental note to commend their friend on it. “I talked with my uncle.”

Hange’s brows furrowed for a second before their expression softened and they nodded their head lightly. “Okay,” They started carefully. “Was it about the case?” 

Levi hummed. “I asked him why he gave an order to kill the two kids.”

“Why?”

“Is this really a question?” He raised his eyebrows still looking at his friend.

“It is, you were given an order to stay away,” Levi was about to interrupt them but they continued before he could even open his mouth. “But you still went to see him, the least you can tell me is the reason.” 

He knew that Hange wasn’t angry with him, they were more worried than angry and Levi could tell that merely by looking at their face. He wasn’t in the mood to explain yet again why talking to his uncle wasn’t anything dangerous for him, or Isabel and Farlan, but Hange was right that he owned them at least his reasoning. Reasoning that for him seemed so very obvious and plain, but was apparently unjustified for them. 

“I asked him because what Isabel said was true,” He scratched the back of his neck absentmindedly. “He might be a criminal, but he never killed people.”

Hange wasn’t satisfied with his answer, they kept quiet and waited for Levi to continue. 

“After Erwin told us who was their prime suspect I wasn’t thrilled, obviously. So I went to  _ my uncle  _ and asked him about Thomas and Milieus and he looked  _ offended  _ that I accused him of such a thing,” Levi scoffed. “I would be offended too if I were in his place.” 

“You know we can’t trust him.”

He turned his head away. “Not you too.”

Hange sighed. “Levi you know I’m right. He is manipulating you and he will manipulate Isabel and Farlan too.” 

“You should know better than this,” Levi’s gaze was stuck on the floor. 

He hoped that Hange would dispel any misdoubts he had, but they only prompted more and even though Levi had managed to cool down his head, it was working at high speed once again. 

“I really don’t need a fucking lecture, you were the one who asked now bare with the answer you got.”

They opened their mouth but closed it after a couple of seconds. A moment of uncomfortable, tense, silence passed before they spoke up.

“We’re just worried for you.” 

Levi sighed resignedly. “I know,” He looked back at his friend, tapping his fingers on the cup. “You have to trust me on this.”

“I trust you with all my heart, you know that,” Hange rested their back against the chair, feeling some of the tension around them vanish. “So if you want me on board with this, you have to tell me everything.”

Levi froze and his eyes slowly widened. The answer he received was the one he wouldn’t expect, it was the one he wasn’t considering when he agreed to visit Hange. Yet there they were, sitting behind the table, with their hands on the cups and eyes on one another. 

Hange managed to muster a feeble smile of encouragement on their face all while patiently waiting for Levi to speak up again. They needed to know the reason behind Isabel’s, Farlan’s and Levi’s blind trust towards the man they came to know as someone to run away from. 

It took Levi a couple of minutes to regain his composure and talk. He hadn’t spoken about his past for a long time and despite it not being a not too tragic story, he still didn't like to revisit it. He took another sip of the tea they made him and only then did he start his story.

*

Jean left Eren and Mikasa’s house as soon as he finished decorating the cupcakes they baked. He left a couple of them for the siblings and rushed out, Eren couldn’t help and smile as he watched the door behind him. 

Armin replied to his message a couple of hours after Jean left, so Eren happily talked with his best friend.

!Armin: I’m better than I was at school

!Armin: And how is Jean doing? I tried to reach out to him, but I think he turned his phone off

You: Jean is better, Marco did wonders on him

You: I will never understand how

!Armin: Marco is something else that much I agree with

You: Yeah

You: So, you’re feeling better?

!Armin: Yeah, I spent the day with grandpa so all was good

You: Say hi to him from me

!Armin: Maybe you and Mikasa could visit one day?

You: Yeah, that’d be nice

You: I haven’t seen the old man in eternity

You: Miss him lots

!Armin: He’ll be glad to hear so

!Armin: He’s still not used to not seeing you two as much

You: I mean we used to come by every weekend

!Armin: That much is true

!Armin: And I haven’t visited him nearly as often as well

You: Then we’ll have to set a date

You: We can’t let gramps get too lonely

!Armin: Sometimes you even say things that make sense

You: What do you mean sometimes

!Armin: Nothing

!Armin: Nothing at all

You: Yeah sure as if I believe you now

!Armin: I gotta run

You: What about the meetup date?

!Armin: I’ll talk to you about it later, alright?

You: Okay, sure

!Armin: See ya

You: Bye

The rest of the day, after the talk, was uneventful for him. He caught up with school that he missed and allowed himself to take a break from everyone and everything, realizing it was what he needed. He took a long, warm shower and played video games until late evening. His phone was set to do not disturb, so he wasn’t bothered by it and finally, he felt at ease. 

Mikasa knocked on his door before going to sleep, he took his headphones off and let her in. She sat on the bed and patted the space next to her, asking Eren to sit as well. 

“What’s up?” He yawned, only then realizing how late it actually was.

“Just thought I’d spend some time with you,” She mumbled as she let her back hit the bed. Eren furrowed his eyebrows lightly. 

“You never do that.”

Mikasa’s eyes were stuck on the ceiling, no sound coming from her for a while. “I guess so.”

He lay down next to her but kept his eyes elsewhere. “You know I can tell that something’s up.”

“Can we just lie like that for a moment?”

He wanted to speak up but only huffed out a shallow breath and nodded, not minding whether she could see him or not. 

He knew Mikasa well enough to know that the incident had taken her aback. Even though Thomas and Milieus weren’t their closest friends, they were still close enough to ache after losing them. 

At least an hour in utter silence passes until Mikasa speaks up again. 

“Can we spend tomorrow together?” Eren turned his head slightly to look at his sister, who was still staring into the ceiling. “You, Armin and I?” 

Her voice is quiet, nothing louder than a whisper that makes Eren’s heart clench. 

“Of course we can,” He moves his hand to grasp hers. “You don’t have to ask.” 

After his words, she nodded frantically as she sat down on the bed and urged Eren up. Only when both of them are once again sitting she hooked her arms under his armpits and put her hands on his shoulders, tugging him close to her. Eren hugged her back after a moment of hesitation and let out a deep breath he was holding in. 

“Of course we can,” Eren repeated quietly, resting his forehead on her shoulder. 

*

He told Hange everything. He told them everything about his past with the details about Kenny, Isabel and Farlan. It wasn’t a pretty story, but thankfully they decided not to throw Levi a pity party, probably because they already did it once, without knowing about his uncle. 

“This is all,” Levi finished, tapping his fingers on the empty cup, his eyes stuck on the table. 

Hange sighed. “Okay, I’ll help when you ask me to,” Levi let out a breath he was holding in while waiting for them to reply.

“But hiding things from Erwin isn’t a good idea, you know that right?” 

“Of course I know that.” 

“Then will you tell him?” 

Levi clicked his tongue. “Not yet.” 

Levi was well aware that Erwin was more than against him talking with his uncle, not speaking about trusting his word and going against his orders. But that talk would have to wait until Levi figured out what to do next. He wasn’t going to throw everything he had with Erwin for the sake of a feeling. 

Thankfully Levi could be a very patient man if he wanted to.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you for the lockdown that i can stay in front of the pc and get any writing done during the week  
> i actually enjoy staying in my house and having online lessons  
> thanks for reading this
> 
> Chapter Five: My Good Time Turns To Be Shit And I Hate It


	5. My Good Time Turns To Be Shit And I Hate It

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> new people are met  
> old people are met also  
> don't walk into dark alleys alone kids

Principal Zackly was always a reasonable, thoughtful and considerate man. He took in accord every piece of information he could gather before making a choice and when he did, somehow no one ever argued. So it wasn’t a surprise when after giving class 104 a couple of days off, no one gave it much thought. The teachers not only agreed with him but they supported and even encouraged his behaviour, praising him for thinking about their mental health. 

The students were also very much thankful. For the first two days, Eren has been pretty down about the situation, but day after day he got better. It didn’t faze him as much as it probably should have, but he just tried to relax, not giving it much thought. 

As he promised Mikasa, he called Armin the next day after their conversation. For the first half an hour they only talked and joked, catching up with the most recent stuff that had happened, only towards the end did Eren set a date for the three of them to hang out. Hearing Armin agree brought a smile to his face and hearing the enthusiasm in his voice only made him anticipate the meeting even more.

Their parents haven’t been home for a week now. Mikasa didn’t even realize it until Eren pointed it out to her. 

“It’s been a while since we’ve seen mom and dad,” Mikasa turned her head towards her brother and blinked a couple of times, quickly lost in thought. 

“I suppose it has.”

Eren turned around to face her, resting his back against a kitchen counter. “Don’t you wonder where they spend all their nights?”

She shook her head. “No, not really,” she sighed. “At least, not anymore.” 

He raised his eyebrows, silently asking her to elaborate. 

“There’s nothing we can do. They won’t tell us anything, and we shouldn’t pry into their business. They stopped asking us about anything, right now all they do is pay the bills,” Mikasa’s gaze softened. “I will be forever grateful for what they’ve done for me, but right now, all I know is that they left us.” 

Eren turned his head away. What Mikasa said was supposed to hurt him, or so he thought. He was certain that her words were supposed to strike a nerve, yet they didn’t. They didn’t because he knew that they were right, and he’d lie if he said that he didn’t feel abandoned. 

“We still have each other,” She whispered, trying to get Eren to look at her. “That’s enough for me.” 

When Eren finally looked back at his sister, he could see one of her small, yet genuine, smiles. Because Mikasa’s smiles could be divided into three categories. The first one, and the most common one was the brief, small but forced smile, a fake. The second one was the smirk, the confident, sly smile she put on every now and then. The third one was the most precious, the rarest, the genuine, light smile that brightened up her whole face and made her eyes shine a little more vividly.

“That’s enough for me too.”

“Good morning,” Mikasa’s voice brought him back from his thoughts. Her hair messier and her eyes a little more rested than usually. Eren was glad to see her using the time off well.

He nodded his head a few times. “Morning,” She sat in front of him, resting her head on her hand. “Did you sleep well?”

“Yeah, I did fall asleep during a movie though, so I will have to get back to it later.”

“Was it any good?” 

She nodded in response. “It seemed interesting enough.” 

There was a moment of silence before Eren spoke up again. “I forgot to tell you that I talked with Armin, we’re hanging out today,” He smiled sheepishly. “Better make yourself presentable.”

Mikasa glared at him for a second before sighing. “Sure, sure. But you should have warned me yesterday.” 

Eren hummed. “I probably should have.” 

“You’re not making your situation better.”

He scoffed. “What are you going to do, scold me?” 

“I just might.” Eren let out a quiet laugh after her response before heading back to his room.

After closing the door behind himself he lay down on his bed, hugging himself while resting his hands on his shoulders. He didn’t think about the meet-up too hard, in fact, he didn’t think about it at all. Eren knew there was no point in trying to impress either Mikasa or Armin. They both knew him too well at that point. Yet somehow, behind the excitement that meeting with them in a scenario other than school, he was anxious. He was well aware that people outgrow each other sometimes, and that not always friendships last forever, even the ones that seemed to be eternal. He dreaded it happening to them as he always pictured himself with Mikasa and Armin by his side, even as an adult. Even as an elder. 

Since they were little they spent a lot of time together, at first it was only Armin and Eren, but when Mikasa joined the Jeager family, she clicked with Armin pretty fast. To everyone else, she was closed and distant, yet to him, she warmed up pretty quickly. Eren wasn’t sure whether it was because Armin was a genuinely nice and selfless person or was it because Eren and he were good friends already. Eren never asked and never intended to.

When they finally left the house they walked in quiet until they met up with Armin. 

“You cut your hair?” Was the first thing Eren said when he saw Armin. The blond only smiled and nodded his head a couple of times. 

“That I did,” He brushed his hair with his hand, loosely gripping it. “I needed a change.” 

“You look great,” Mikasa smiled, which only brightened Armin’s expression. He was always sensitive to compliments, but whenever they came from Mikasa, his world seemed to collapse on itself.

Eren nodded. “I have to agree.” 

“Where are we heading?” Armin prompted after making sure neither Mikasa nor Eren had anything to say.

“I was thinking milkshakes?” 

“Works for me,” He smiled in reply.

The walk towards the cafe was nice for all three of them. Eren feared it might have been awkward considering how long they didn’t hang out. Just three of them. But it wasn’t anything like that. They talked, they joked, they smiled and laughed and Eren was couldn’t help but think how perfect and natural it felt. 

The cafe wasn’t crowded. It was a small place they used to visit much more often back in middle school. High school didn’t turn out to be particularly harder, they had more assignments and more things to study - the teachers were simply more demanding, but it didn’t feel as if they had to do more than they had in middle school. They had less homework unless it was a written assignment and they had more things to memorize. 

It didn’t take long until they had their drinks with them, sitting in front of a small table far away from other people present. 

“How are things going at home?” Armin prompted as they got comfortable around one another. Keeping his hands on his glass. 

Mikasa shrugged, indifferent to the subject. “Eren and I are doing good, our parents haven’t been home lately.” 

“Oh,” His eyes widened a little. “Did they call you?” 

Eren shook his head, taking another sip of his drink. “Nah, they used to leave us a note, but that quickly stopped.”

Armin drummed with his fingers lightly on the table. “That sucks.”

“It used to, yeah,” He admitted. “But now not so much.” 

Mikasa nodded. “We got used to it.”

“It shouldn’t be this way.”

“We’re not kids anymore, if our parents miss a day or two from watching over us we won’t kill ourselves,” She added after the blond’s remark. 

That much was right, Eren agreed with her wholeheartedly. Even as a kid he didn’t like to be lectured and watched constantly, he enjoyed coming to solutions himself, even if it took him lots of tries and mistakes.

Armin dropped the subject after that, even though he was curious to know more, he realized that his friends didn’t want to talk about their parents. 

“Grandpa found a stray dog the other day,” He smiled as he got Eren’s and Mikasa’s attention once again. “It’s not a puppy so we know we didn’t separate him from his mother, we got him checked at the vet and found out he was in a pretty bad shape.” 

“He’s still pretty thin, but he eats more and just a couple of days ago I got him a bed to sleep in. But he refuses to sleep in it, he will only sleep with grandpa on the bed, it’s adorable.” 

“Did you name him?” Eren asked.

Armin nodded. “Bugger.”

“Bugger?” Mikasa cocked her eyebrow, her head already resting on her closed hand. “Isn’t that like an offensive word?” 

He shrugged. “Granpa said it with love.” She huffed out a laugh.

“Of course he did."

There was a moment of silence between them. The only sound being the straws hitting the glass cups. 

“I recently watched a pretty good crime series on Netflix,” Mikasa slowly spoke up, but got into it pretty quickly as she realized that both Eren and Armin were eager to listen to her.

She started telling them what the show was about and how she found it interesting. Both of them knew that Mikasa liked to watch Netflix in her free time, maybe a little excessively even, but she rarely talked about the things she watched. It wasn’t out of shame. She wasn’t the type of person to talk to unless asked, but then again. Mikasa could be a very different person in the company of these two.

They continued to talk and catch up with the most recent news regarding themselves. Eren told Armin about a little accident he had in the kitchen a few weeks back and Mikasa told him about thinking of picking up a new hobby. 

Even after finishing their drinks they continued to talk and with each word said, the atmosphere got lighter. There wasn’t much tension between them, to begin with, they didn’t have to talk every day to stay friends, but they still were anxious that something might have changed. Eren liked to think that they were past the moment in their friendship where they doubted one another constantly. He liked to think that they’d stay friends even if they didn’t talk for a while. Just by looking at Armin and Mikasa laughing and smiling, Eren knew that he was right. 

Neither of them mentioned the affairs from the party or post-party, in their case. They kept the conversation positive and tried to avoid any sidetracking. However after some time, the cafe seemed too crowded and loud for their liking, they settled on going to Armin, where they could stay until they had to go home, or in Mikasa’s case, to Sasha, as she was invited for a sleepover. 

Armin’s grandpa was beaming once he saw both Eren and Mikasa, he always was a talkative man and seeing the kids after a while only made him talk more. None of them minded, the company was nice and they enjoyed the chit-chat. 

Eren was always envious of Armin’s and his grandpa’s relationship to some extent. Even though his own father took care of him and made time for him when he was younger, Eren felt neglected later on, as he started growing up and really needed his father to be there for him. He told himself he had nothing to complain about, having Mikasa by his side was usually more than enough. Yet it wasn’t the same.

Mr Arlert left as soon as the kids started to do their own thing. They could be doing different things and not even talk but still have a good time because they spent it with each other. There were often times when Armin would study and Eren would fall asleep on his desk, trying to do homework. Neither of them tackled the subject and neither of them minded. 

They did their own thing until the evening when Mikasa had to head out and Eren decided to leave as well. They said their goodbye’s, sent their regards to Mr Arlert before actually leaving the house. Eren and Mikasa walked together for a while before she took another turn to Sasha’s house, but of course, she remembered to tell him to call her whenever he needed it’, or ‘not to burn the house down'. 

Eren appreciated walking alone during the evening. It was usually peaceful and gave him room to think, fresh air only boosting his, already running mind. So when someone pulls him by his arm to a dark alley, he’s much more than just startled.

He yanked his arm back as soon as the on-going situation got to his head. “What the fuck?!” 

The man that grabbed him seemed to be older than him, by at least ten years. He had blond hair and wore glasses. He didn’t look like anyone Eren had seen in his life nor did he resemble anyone he knew.

The stranger’s eyebrows furrowed. “I promise to explain everything, you just have to come with me,” He tried showing his hands, that he didn’t wield any weapons, but strangely enough Eren wasn’t convinced. 

“Fuck no!” He spat, taking a couple of steps backwards, away from the man. “Who the fuck are you?”

The man closed his eyes, sighing. “I mean you no harm, Eren.”

Eren’s eyes widened in response and only after the initial surprise wore off did he scowl. “And that explains how you know my name when I’ve never seen you in my life.” 

“I told you I’ll explain if you agree to go with me!” 

“I’m not going anywhere with you!” 

“Eren please,” He took a few steps toward the young man. “Let me explain.”

There was no time for Eren to sort his thoughts out. He continued to back away from the stranger, not allowing him to be in his arms reach. 

“We don’t have time, Eren, stop acting like a damn child!” 

“I’m acting like a child, you’re delusional, I have no idea who you are,” He huffed out, his features sharp. “I’m heading out, don’t you dare to follow me.”

Eren turned around, but the man that grabbed him before didn’t let him go easily. He was pulled into the alley yet again, the hold on his forearm bruising. Eren tried to pry himself once again, trashing himself backwards but the blond was persistent and his grip was too tight for him to break away.

“Let me go, you bastard!” 

Eren was by all means a strong man. He worked out regularly with Mikasa and some other people from his class, but the grip on his forearm was unforgiving. It made Eren’s heart speed-up, with every shake that didn’t make the blond let go, his breathing hitched. 

He was dragged further inside the alley, the steps he took weren’t full, the resistance helped him to somehow fight back against the pull. Eren wasn’t going to let himself be dragged into a dark alley by a stranger, a trope from a horror movie and a recipe for a tragedy in one. He kicked the man in his groin, which made him finally let go of Eren’s arm. 

“I told you not to touch me.”

“And I told you to trust me!” 

Eren laughed. “That’s fucking rich,” The blond was still on the ground, Eren used the time to back away until he could see the street once again. 

However, the stranger was persistent. “I’m Zeke Fritz. Though it’s my mother’s surname, I usually go by my father’s.”

Eren stopped in his tracks to look at the man. “Jeager,” His whole body tensed. “My father was Grisha Jeager.”

It took Eren a long minute to comprehend what ‘Zeke’ had said. 

“So you’re not only a creep but a stalker too?” Zeke stood up but didn’t dare to take a step forward.

Eren’s face was the definition of disgust. There was no logical explanation to the man in front of him other than him being a stalker. His father had been with Carla basically his whole life, she said so herself. He didn’t want to believe that his father had been sleeping with other women, Eren knew that Grisha wasn’t the type of man to cheat on Carla. Or at least, he desperately wanted to believe so. 

“Eren. Look,” Zeke took a deep breath, closing his eyes for a moment. “I’m neither a creep nor a stalker. I just want to explain some things,” There was another pause, he took a couple of steps forward, but once again, Eren backed away. “And I want to protect you.”

“Protect me?” Once again that night, Eren laughed under his breath. “I don’t need protection from anything.”

Apparently, Zeke’s patience was running out, as his eyebrows furrowed and he grabbed Eren by his shoulders. “I am your brother, like it or not, and you’re in danger,” Tilting his head to the side, he took a deep breath before continuing. “Let me help.”

“I’m going to scream if you don’t let go of me,” Eren whispered, his hands clenched into fists.

A moment passed. “Eren-”

Then he screamed. Zeke’s eyes widened as the boy under his hold let out an agonizing scream that sent chills down his spine, he trashed and tossed and only then did Zeke realize how serious his brother was. He let go of one of his shoulders and slapped a hand over his mouth. Eren didn’t stop screaming, in fact, he screamed louder.

“Shut up! Eren come on!” Zeke begged in a hushed tone. “Stop acting this way!” 

Eren’s throat started to hurt and the grim hope he had, that someone might have heard him was going away. But then Zeke was pulled away from him, he blinked a couple of times, his eyes still on the ground. Looking up he saw two familiar figures. No sound escaped from his mouth as he tried to regain his composure. 

“You okay, sugar cube?” Crouching in front of him was Hange, their eyebrows furrowed yet not in anger, worry rather. Eren nodded in response, still catching his breath.

“Oho! I wasn’t sure I’d ever see you again!” 

Eren’s head perked up upon hearing Zeke once again, he was standing further in the alley, not looking at him anymore, but at Levi, who was standing a couple of meters away from him. Hange turned around to see what was happening, placing one of their hands-on Eren’s shoulder. 

“Do I know you?” 

“Ah, Levi, don’t be shy in front of your friends,” Zeke chortled, correcting the glasses on his nose. “Won’t you introduce me?” 

Levi wasn’t fazed by his remark. “All I know about you was that you tried to assault another person.”

Zeke clicked his tongue. “Now, we both know that’s not true.”

“You must be mistaking me with someone,” Levi turned around and started to head back to the main street, to where Hange and Eren were already standing. 

Eren wasn’t sure what he was witnessing. He looked up at Hange, seeking answers in their face, yet they showed nothing, only looked at Levi with their eyebrows furrowed lightly. Zeke made it look as if he knew Levi as if he knew Eren too and Eren didn’t know what to make out of it. He wasn’t sure how Zeke knew things he knew about him, he didn’t know if he wanted to believe him regarding his father. 

“How are Isabel and Farlan doing? They must be better than the last time I’ve seen them, ey?” Levi visibly froze for a second and it didn’t go unnoticed by Hange or Eren, but he quickly continued in his tracks as if nothing happened. 

When Levi stood next to Hange he spoke up. 

“Don’t follow us or I’ll call the police.”

His words finally took the smile, Zeke had plastered, off his face. Levi’s words managed to scare him off. 

“That’s not the last time you’ll be hearing from me, Levi.”

Hange ushered both Eren and Levi away from the alley. Neither of them spoke up, the only sound Eren could focus on was their rushed footsteps. There was no denying that he was curious about what had happened, who Zeke exactly was, how he knew Eren or how he knew Levi. There were a lot of questions in his head and he couldn’t find answers. 

“Who exactly was that?” Eren asked, finally breaking the silence between them. He could feel that both Levi and Hange looked at him, even though he himself kept his eyes on the pavement. 

“He knew who I was, claimed to be my brother,” He snorted, disbelief mixed with disgust claiming his throat. “And he knew Levi.”

He got no answer in return. As he glanced back at Levi and Hange, he saw them exchanging a glance, one that he knew meant more than it showed. Despite the frustration he felt inside, he decided it was best for him to stay quiet. 

“What do you say you come over for some tea?” Hange once again that night placed their hand on Eren’s shoulder. As he looked back he could see a bright smile on their face. “I’m sure it’d help you loosen up a little.” 

Eren sighed. “I guess.” 

They walked in silence. Eren didn’t try to bother Levi about Zeke again and Hange stayed strangely quiet. It was weird between them, it was awkward and the unresolved tension hung high. He was sure that the other two felt it too, even if they didn’t act on it. 

It made Eren think intensely. The whole situation made him think and it frustrated him that he couldn’t come up with any reasonable answer. He didn’t like being in the dark. He didn’t like not knowing about things. He wanted to pull out his phone, call his father and demand answers about the so-called Zeke, but something told him that he’d be met with denial. Zeke, even though Eren didn’t like it, made him doubt his family relations.

“I’ll be heading off now,” Levi’s voice pulled Eren out of his thoughts. 

“You won’t stay for a while?” Hange asked though it was more of an offer coming from them.

Levi shook his head lightly. Still holding onto Hange’s gaze. “I won’t, I still have some things to take care of.” 

“Alright, call me when you get home.”

“Will do.”

He turned around and started to go back. Only when Hange and Eren took a couple of steps forward did he stop and tilt his head back to look at the two of them. 

“Stay out of trouble. Both of you.” 

Hange snorted. “Of course.”

It didn’t take long for them to arrive at Hange’s apartment. Eren followed in silence, Hange didn’t try to prompt a conversation, but he didn’t feel as if he was invading their personal space. Somehow he didn’t feel unwelcomed, even though they didn’t talk. 

“Do you want anything to drink?” They asked as they walked inside. 

Eren smiled politely. “Whatever you’ll get me will do.” 

“I’ll make us some tea then!” They quickly closed the door behind themself and headed towards the kitchen. “Make yourself at home, hun!” They shouted from the kitchen and Eren instantly felt bad for Hange’s neighbours. 

Eren sat down on a couch and lay his head down so he was looking up at the ceiling. He didn’t notice when Hange sat next to them or when they placed two cups of tea on the coffee table. 

“Do you know Zeke, Hange?” Their eyebrows furrowed lightly at his question.

“I don’t, you shouldn’t worry about him,” They sighed quietly. “I doubt you’ll be seeing him again.” 

Eren was beyond annoyed at that point. “He’s supposedly my brother, I think it’s likely for me to see him again.” 

“Have you seen him before?” They asked after a moment of silence. 

“No.”

“Have you heard of him before?” 

“No.”

“Then what makes you think, that even though he’s your brother, you’ll see him again?” Hange tried to smile lightly. They tried to show Eren that they weren’t angry about him being constipated. “I really wouldn’t worry about that guy if I were you.”

Eren sighed resignedly. “You’re probably right,” He took in a sharp breath. “But he said something about me being in danger and having to protect me, he didn’t sound as if he was bluffing.” 

Hange held their chin in their hand. Their eyes averted down to the floor. “That does sound weird, you’re right, but,” They looked up at Eren once again. “He could have made that up to make you go with him.” 

Eren nodded. “That’s true.”

Hange let go of their chin and rested their back against the couch. Letting out a deep breath as they drank their tea. “It’s best to think he fed you whatever words might have worked just so you went with him.”

“Yeah, okay. Okay, you’re right,” He took his cup from the table. “Thanks, Hange.”

“That’s what I’m here for, angel wing,” They grabbed their TV remote. “Now what do you say we watch some movies?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i suck  
> school sucks  
> this short chapter took way too long for me to write but schools been a bitch and hey, i have no say in that.   
> thanks to the people that support this and wait for updates
> 
> chapter six: Some People Are Clearly Delusional


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